Payback
by What About Scout
Summary: Leo has been a cop for ten years, and has made many enemies. One of them is already haunting him from the past, and now he's back for revenge. Leo, blinded by loss, pain, and anger, decides it's his turn for a little payback...
1. Michael Connor

**Consider this story kind of an alternate _Home Sweet Home_. Same people (with some added characters), same Piper and Leo, same Officer Wyatt…kinda. Same friends and family (except Leo's dad has a different name, and there is no Melinda or Rick, because Rick is Leo's dad's new name). It's a different plot. A different story…**

**In _Home Sweet Home_, Leo was like the family guy cop, you know? He went to the schools and took the dogs to the park and trained them as often as possible. Got that? Okay, throw it all out the window.**

**This is my _new_ version of everything I've written in _Home Sweet Home_. So take _Home Sweet Home_ and everything about it and forget it…DISCLAIMER: I don't own Charmed. I am not making any profit off of this story, and I do not intend to, unless I change the names of the characters from Charmed…Then I can make a profit. But I don't own Charmed. Understand that? I do not own Charmed, God damn it!SUMMARY: Leo _always_ worked alone, and because of that, he made a lot of enemies. When the IA did an investigation, they decided he couldn't work alone any more. That it was too hard and he may not come back from a case one day.**

**But Leo didn't want a partner. He refused to be friendly to the guy, and when the "intruder" started asking questions about Leo's wife, he got protective. But it wasn't really his fault, because Piper and Leo went through things that no one ever should, and it is still haunting Leo.**

**Leo takes a job alone one day and ends up right where the IA, and even Piper, thought he would be if he worked alone.**

**Because of all of it, he promised Piper that he would come home to her every night, and he stayed true to that promise. Every night, no matter how late—or early in the morning—it was, or how tired or how beaten up he was, he made it through the front door, at least. There was nothing more Piper could ask of her husband, apart from quitting his job, which she knew very well would never happen.**

**So every night, Leo walked through the front door and saw Piper waiting. If he was early, he waited for her. Even if it was only once a day, they saw each other. That was all they could ask.**

**But one night Leo came home and Piper didn't. Everyone knew what happened and everyone knew who did it. Everyone.**

**Leo was out for blood.**

**

* * *

**

**Chapter 1 - Michael Connor**

Piper Wyatt opened her eyes slowly, cursing the birds singing outside the bedroom window for waking her. But then she felt she should bless them when she saw who was beside her. She smiled and stared at her husband for a moment before rolling up against his chest as close as she could be. She smiled again and looked up at his face. He was awake and staring down at her with a little smile.

"Did I wake you?" Piper whispered.

He shook his head. "No."

"Don't you have to be at work?" she asked, confused as to why he was still there; usually by now he was at the police station that he worked at.

"Not until six o'clock."

"Six o'clock _tonight_? Seriously?"

"Yes, Piper, seriously," Leo told his wife.

Piper eyed him suspiciously. "Who died?"

Leo smiled. "No one. No occasion. Just a morning off."

"…That means you'll have to work late," she said sadly, glancing away from him momentarily.

"I would have to either way, Piper, you know that."

"I know."

Leo sighed and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up close to him. "I'll be home as soon as I can," he whispered into her hair.

"Promise?"

"You betcha."

Piper smiled. "Thank you." she leaned forward and kissed Leo, rolling him over so that she could lie on his chest. "God, it is great to have you here…" she sighed as she looked down at him. It had been ages since she was able to see him and feel his touch this early in the morning. "Hungry?"

"No."

"Great, I'll cook breakfast."

* * *

After a half-forced breakfast, a shared shower that had been blissful in every sense of the word, playing with the dog in the backyard, three episodes of Maury and two of Jerry Springer, and falling asleep together on the couch, the couple's morning and afternoon together came to a close.

Leo looked up at the clock, tipping his head over the back of the couch. "I gotta go," he said quietly, not moving to get up.

Piper snuggled up into her husband's chest as he stroked her long dark hair. "Please, stay a little longer…"

"Piper, I have to go."

She tried pouting. When it didn't work, she tried to fake tears. "Fine…Go. I'll just wait here for you, then, I guess…" she mumbled.

He kissed the top of her head. "If I could stay, I would. You know that."

She sighed. "I know." She stood up and almost forced him to stand with her. "Go. Go before I chain you up so you can never leave…"

He smiled and gave her a quick kiss before heading into the foyer closet to grab his police jacket. She watched from the living room as he put the black coat on and walked to the kitchen to grab his keys from the counter.

"Okay, bye." Leo headed for the door.

"Hold up, what do you think you're doing?" Piper asked, standing up.

He turned around and stared at his wife. "Going to work." He seemed confused, but she knew he wasn't.

"Forgetting something?" she said, walking up to the door to meet him.

Leo went over a mental checklist. "No."

"Fine," Piper pouted, and stuck out her lip like a child.

"Oh, that…"

She smiled, then stepped forward and gave Leo a kiss, simple at first, then turning into a kiss that he knew would have him in the bedroom in no time flat. Or on the floor of the foyer right here…He pulled away suddenly.

"No, see, you can't do that, or I won't be able to go to work," he said.

Piper smiled. "That was my master plan."

"Well it's working. Stop being so…you," he teased.

Piper was still smiling. "Fine, go."

"Hey, don't you have to go to work, too?"

Piper owned a restaurant downtown, a small place that had mostly regulars daily and nightly for lunch and dinner. She'd been running it for quite a few years with her two sisters, Prue and Phoebe. They were covering for her this particular Saturday, but she had to help out with the dinner shift. She smiled. "Not for a few minutes. I've still got time. _You_ have to _go_."

"Ah, I can stay a few minutes, too, you know."

"Leo, go to work. You're making this too hard."

He grinned. "That was my master plan," he mocked, making Piper smile.

"Love you."

"I love you, too." He kissed her quickly and turned for the door. Just as he was about to walk outside and close the door behind him, he whipped around and kissed her again. "I had to, I'm sorry."

Piper pushed him away with a laugh. "Go." Without another word, Leo stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Piper watched him from the window as he climbed into his squad car and drove away.

* * *

"Hey, hey, Wyatt!

"Cortez, is that a gun or are you just happy to see me?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Cortez, a man about Leo's height with a dark Hispanic complexion and black hair, greeted his friend and coworker at the door to the police station. Cortez had known Leo since college, and they had graduated together. His parents were Puerto Rican, and spoke little Spanish, and Cortez was fluent himself, making him very useful on the force.

"Adam, what'd I miss?" Leo asked, nodding toward a man standing by the secretary's desk off to the right.

Adam was the chief at the San Francisco 12th Precinct. He was only a few years older than Leo and the two were sometimes mistaken as brothers. Leo, and Adam had known each other since elementary school. Adam was Leo's height and had coal black hair, almost an exact opposite of his blonde, blue-eyed kindergarten teaching wife Kristina.

Leo wasn't the only one in his blood family who worked at the precinct, though. His older brother, Ron, was an investigator, and his younger brother Jake was graduating tomorrow with three other people to become officers at the station. There would be a party afterward at the local bar, just like there was for Leo and Ron and anyone else when they were new.

Ron was four years older than Leo, making him thirty-eight, and was a few inches taller. He, unlike his brother, had brown hair and brown eyes, taking after their mother. Leo hardly looked like his brother, with his dark blonde hair and much lighter eyes. Jake looked more like Leo. He was ten years younger than Leo, and had dark blonde hair and aquamarine eyes. He was the only unmarried Wyatt brother.

Leo's father, Rick, dad also worked at the station, though he was a Sergeant. Leo himself was an officer, and Ron was an investigator.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked, seeing as Adam hadn't answered him.

"Uh…Someone's gonna be here for you…" Adam started cautiously.

This sparked curiosity in Leo. "Who?"

Adam chose his words carefully and spoke slowly. "We um…The IA's been looking into us all for these past two weeks—"

"What?" Joe, another officer, interjected.

"Yeah. I couldn't tell you guys because they thought it would affect your jobs…" Adam said as others came around to listen. Officers and investigators around them laughed and scoffed at the thought. Even those who weren't paying attention reacted coldly.

"They just think that because they got a position above us, they can control us."

"Well, they do, and they can…to an extent," Adam told them all.

"And…" Leo encouraged.

"And…" Adam turned to his friend. "They're assigning you a partner…" he said almost sympathetically, though he looked about ready for a nuclear explosion.

"What?"

"He's supposed to be here soon."

"No! No, I _will not_ work with a partner! _I work alone, Adam_. You know that. _Everybody_ knows that. I'm not letting some kid come in and work with me side-by-side just because the IA needs me to baby-sit someone that they can't!"

"Leo, there's nothing I can do. I tried to get them out of it, but they were dead set against you working alone. Everyone knows you work alone, but everyone also knows that you take the worst cases in San Francisco. They know the kind of cases you take and the kind of people you deal with daily. They think one day someone in the past might catch up with you and when they do, you will need some backup."

"So I'll call in for it!"

"Oh, please, Leo. Like you ever would. Besides, you don't just do the easy jobs, you take the messy ones. Jobs that require some help."

"Not for me."

"Leo, you go out at two in the morning to check up on people that require a partner's help…If it helps, he's already been on the force for a few weeks. He doesn't need a tight leash."

"It doesn't." Leo turned around, rested his elbows on a filing cabinet, and held his head in his hands. He deflated. A partner was _not_ what he needed. "I won't do this for them."

"Then do it for Piper," Adam said quietly. Leo looked up. "You know she worries about you. Why do you think that I gave you this morning off?"

Before Leo could respond, someone came in through the front door of the station. He had black hair and brown eyes and wore a black suit. Leo stood up straight and turned around. He glanced at the man and groaned. The man walked up to Adam. "Adam Hazel, I presume."

"And you must be the new guy."

The man laughed. "Michael Connor. Mike."

Leo was staring straight at Michael, and he wasn't smiling. He was no more than seven feet away, leaning against the filing cabinet still. The man around him laughed at the situation, then dispersed as Adam led the new guy over to Leo.

"Okay, Mike," Adam said, "this over hear is Leo Wyatt, your new partner."

Leo was standing as still as possible, though he didn't even attempt to look friendly. He glared at Adam and then turned his gaze to Mike.

"Leo, this is Mike Connor, and you will be a kind, good-hearted partner to him," Adam told Leo sternly.

Mike held his hand out and said, "Good to meet you." Leo looked at Mike's hand as if it were some foreign object. He looked back up at Mike's face and stared at him. Mike pulled his hand back. "Okay," he said.

"Leo…" Adam warned.

"Hi," Leo said bitterly, but he made no move to shake Mike's hand.

"Well, I'll just leave you two to get to know each other…" Adam walked away. Leo started to follow him, but Adam pushed him back toward Mike.

Leo sighed. He looked at Mike and sighed again. Cortez came out from his office and hung off of the door. "Leo, Line One."

Leo nodded. He walked into his office, and Mike followed him. He picked up the phone, ignoring Michael, and pressed the button that read _Line 1_. "Wyatt," he said into the speaker part of the phone.

"Hey!" a voice said over the phone.

"Hey, Baby, you just saved me." Leo moved from the front of the desk over behind it. Mike stood in front of the door and watched him, even though he could tell Leo was trying to ignore him.

"Busy?"

"A little…What do you need?"

"Hmm…Just a question."

"Is this about my family coming over for dinner tonight?" Leo asked his wife.

"Yeah, I was wondering if Marie was coming or not."

"Ah, they skipped out on us. Marie's barely moving around, and she's pretty much pinned Ron down." Marie was Ron's wife, and she was only about two weeks away from her due date. She had Ron on alert in case she went into labor.

"Okay. I'm assuming Jake's with his friends for his last nights of freedom, then," Piper said.

"Pretty much, yeah. Sorry, Honey."

"Ah, it's fine. I don't wanna cook anyway. I've been in the kitchen at the restaurant so long…I don't feel like cooking. Let's order out."

"Oh? I've never heard you say _that_ before." Leo smiled. He looked up at Mike and his smile faded. He looked back down at the desk. "Piper…"

"It's okay, I know you'll be home late."

He wasn't sure of how to tell her the_ "news"._ "No uh, Piper…They, uh…The IA assigned me a partner…"

"What?"

"Yeah so uh…I've got some papers to fill out and all that good stuff…I think I'll be here for a while…"

Piper sighed. "…Okay…"

"Look, Piper, it wasn't my choice. _They_ assigned me the guy, not Adam or anyone you or I know."

"I know that…How late do you have to stay?"

Leo sighed. "I don't know, Sweetie, late. I gotta go past a few places and check up on some things…Don't wait up for me. If I make it home then it'll be around...dawn…ish."

"Yeah. It's okay, Leo, I'm going over to Prue's after work anyway. Phoebe's supposed to be there, too. Sister bonding time. I haven't seen them in a while."

"You sure it's okay?"

"Leo, I learned a long time ago I had to share you with your job, and I am."

"You're sure."

Piper laughed a little. "Yes, Honey, I'm sure."

"Okay, then I gotta go. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Leo hung up the phone and looked up to see Mike staring at him. "Girlfriend?" he asked.

"Wife, like it's any of your business." Leo walked past Mike and out of the office.

"Look, Leo, I know you don't want a partner. To be honest, I didn't want the job here either. I already know you don't like me."

"It's not you," Leo said. They were walking toward the back of the station, Mike following a few feet behind. Leo didn't turn around to talk to him. "Trust me, it's not you."

Joe walked past them going the opposite way. "Yeah, you'd know if it were _you_," he said. As he went out of sight, he yelled. "You wouldn't still be alive!"

Suddenly Ron ran past them from down the hall. Leo grabbed his arm to stop him. "What's wrong?" he asked his older brother.

"Marie's in labor! She just paged me."

"She is? Then what the hell are you still doin' here, go!" Leo pushed his brother away and watched him run off down the hall and out the door. When Ron was out of sight, Leo turned around to see Mike staring at him. "And in case you're wondering, yes, that was my brother."

"Yeah, I think it _is_ me," Mike said. Leo nodded his agreement and continued on down the hall. "Where are we going?"

"To the back. What, Adam didn't give you the grand tour?"

"I thought that was _your_ job."

"They don't pay me for that." They walked through the double doors at the end of the long hallway. Inside the room they were in, there were rows and columns of filing cabinets, full of records and files.

"Why are we here, then?"

"_I_ am here to get a list…" Leo opened up a drawer and started rummaging through it.

"A list of what?"

"People…" he trailed off, stood up, and closed the drawer. He knelt down and started going through the bottom one.

"People like…Who?"

Leo stood up, slamming the drawer shut as he did so. It opened back up and he kicked it shut. "Needs a nudge sometimes…" he said, mainly to himself. With little to no conversation with Mike, Leo made it through five full cabinets before actually getting angry at them.

He slammed the sixth cabinet drawer shut. "Damn it!"

"Why don't you check in your office?" Mike suggested.

"Fine." Leo ran from the back Records Room to his office, Mike trailing just behind him.

Leo rummaged through his filing cabinet before slamming it shut. "Damn it!" He walked out of the office and into the main center of the station. "Amy, where the _hell_ is my list?" he called across the station to the other side of the room.

"Up here, Wy," Amy Callahan yelled back. She was the mother of the station, the secretary of the 12th Precinct. She was a young woman, recently married and out of college. She had back-length auburn hair and sometimes wore reading glasses, but she tried not to because she hated the way she looked in them. Right now she was holing up a sheet of paper from the front desk she was sitting behind. Leo ran up and snatched it. "Your welcome," she said to him sarcastically.

"Thanks." Leo turned around. "Sign me out, call my wife and tell her I'll be home late!" he yelled, walking out the door with paper.

Mike looked around at Adam and Cortez, who were laughing quietly. "He already talked to—"

"It's a Leo thing. Says the same thing every time he leaves," Adam explained.

"Yeah, for the past ten years…" Cortez added.

**

* * *

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**It was long for a first chapter, I know.****..Like six pages long. A lot of the chapters are like this, though****, only because I can't find a spot to stop them.**

**Okay, I know we can already establish that Leo doesn't like Mike...He won't. He'll have to learn to work with him, though, but he won't like it.**

**So was it okay? Too long? Too short (nuh****-uh!)? Just right? Too...whatever? Let me know! I'll have the next chapter up shortly.**


	2. Bad Dream

**Okay, something I _probably_ should have put in the first chapter...Someday when I'm not lazy like I am now, I'll change the following notes and put them in Chapter1...But for now...**

**This is Rated R for a few reasons, even though it may not seem it right now...Um...After like, Chapter10, it gets _really_ violent and...bad-languagy...In all chapters, there is and will be a lot of swearing. Expect that.  
As far as sexual scenes go--mild. Nothing too inappropriate, (did I spell that right?) though. But there are some conversations about sex, mostly between the Halliwell sisters, or Leo and his brothers, but not all.**

**I think that covers it...If anyone has any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to contact me.**

**Um...this chapter starts like 5 minutes after Chapter1 ended...**

* * *

**Chapter 2 - Bad Dream**

"So how many years have you put in on the force?" Mike asked. He and Leo were driving downtown, and Leo was looking for a certain place that he hadn't spoken up about yet to Mike.

"Ten."

"So you're what…thirty-eight?"

Leo looked over at Mike. "Thirty-four."

"Oh." Mike couldn't help but smile. He looked around the SUV. On the dashboard, there was a sticker that read, _Car 18—SFPD_. "I'm assuming you don't like to talk much, huh?"

"Not to you."

"Okay, I get that I kinda came in a pretty much screwed up your whole feeling about your job—"

"Wrong. I love my job, I'm just not so fond of the IA investigator that got the insane idea to stick you with me instead of someone else…"

After a few silent moments, Mike got bored and turned around in his seat and looked in the back. He found a bag that looked similar to a cheerleading bag, though it was all black and had no writing on it. He pulled in onto his lap, unzipped it open, and rummaged through it.

"Nosy, are we?" Leo asked, not bothering to look over or stop Mike. He knew what was in the bag.

"Just curious as to what my partner's up to." Mike pulled a gun out of the bag. "This is not the gun that was on you earlier," he said.

"No, it's my wife's."

"She a cop?"

"No…Might as well bring it to her. She's on the way…"

"What's her gun doing back here?"

"Ah, she forgot her bag after we had sex back there," Leo answered simply, doing his best not to laugh. Mike rolled his eyes. "It's true," Leo laughed.

Mike obviously didn't believe him. He looked back into the bag and pulled out a black, lacy bra. He held it up with one hand over the bag.

Leo looked over. "Yeah, she forgot that, too." He couldn't help but laugh.

"Where exactly are we going?" Mike asked, putting the bra back into the bag with the gun.

"My house, then Joey's house."

"Who's Joey?"

Leo glanced over. "You'll see…So what about you? Married?"

"Yeah, right," Mike laughed. "Single."

"Lucky bastard," Leo said flatly.

"How long've you been married?"

"Uh…Almost…It'll be eighteen years in a month or so."

"Eighteen years? Wait, you said you were thirty-four."

"Yeah, we got married with our families'—well…excluding her father's—blessings at the ripe 'ole age of seventeen," Leo said honestly.

"So how many kids come from eighteen years?" Mike asked.

"None."

"None? Really?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah, we've always worked too much to think about kids and stuff like that," he said, keeping his sentences short. He didn't like sharing his life with this man who was practically a stranger to him. "But now…Maybe."

"Oh so you're considering?"

"No, but she's out of birth control pills and I'm out of condoms," Leo said. He had to laugh at his own joke as he pulled into his driveway, putting his head on the steering wheel. Light from a television could be seen from the bay window in the living room of the house before them. When Leo got over his own stupid joke, he looked up. "Good, she's home." He grabbed the bag from Mike's lap and got out of the SUV. "Stay," he told Mike.

Leo walked up the sidewalk to the front porch and opened the door. Mike could see a figure sitting on the couch from the bay window. The figure stood up and walked out of sight toward the door.

"Leo, what're you doing home?" Piper asked.

"Dropping this off." Leo handed Piper her bag. "I thought you said you were going over to your sister's."

She smiled and gave him a thank-you kiss. "Thanks. Oh yeah, Prue and Andy had plans for tonight and Phoebe's on a date…So it's just me…" Her sister Prue was engaged to Andy Trudaeu, a police officer at another station.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Baby," he said, taking her into his arms.

She smiled. "So…Your, uh…He with you?…Or is it she?"

"He, and yes. So please, take your time."

Piper smiled again. "Oh, okay." She nodded.

"I smell popcorn. What movie are you watching?"

"Patch Adams."

"Yeah, it does look like you've been crying." Leo ran his thumb across Piper's cheek. "What part?"

"The, uh, part with the butterfly on the cliff." Piper nodded.

"Aw…Mind if I…?" Leo said, looking over Piper's shoulder.

She pushed him back. "Don't you have someone waiting for you?"

"Ah, he's fine. I can make him wait."

"Leo…"

He kissed her, and pulled away only when he was out of breath. "Damn, I shouldn't have come back here. I knew I wouldn't be able to leave…"

"Well the earlier you leave, the earlier you come home again," Piper reasoned.

Leo considered this. "Okay, okay." He opened the front door. Piper set the bag down and followed him out to the patio in front of the door. He turned around to face her and pulled a little kid face. "I gotsta go…" He pouted.

"You gotsta?" Piper asked, falling forward into her husband. She wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. He held her close with one arm around her back and the other around her own arm.

A second later, he pushed her away enough to hold her at arm's length. He rested his head against the side of her face. "Uh huh. I just gotsta," he whispered in a baby voice.

"Don't you mean you _have to_?" Piper asked.

"Nope." Leo shook his head a little.

Piper smiled. "Go on." She pushed Leo away.

"I'll see you later tonight, then…Maybe early tomorrow morning."

"Okay. I love you."

"Love you, too." He kissed her on the cheek and stood up straight. He turned his back to her and took a step away. Piper grabbed his arm by his coat and pulled him back to her for a better kiss.

"Go on," Piper whispered.

"I can't move." Leo shook his head.

Piper smiled. She gave Leo a quick but thorough kiss and pulled away again. "Now go," she told him, stealing one more kiss. When they pulled apart, she pushed him away toward the SUV. "Go."

Leo walked back to the SUV. He looked back at Piper, who was smiling at him. A dog ran out the front door past Piper and straight at Leo. "Git back in the house!" he yelled at the large German Shepherd. The dog skidded to a stop, stared at Leo, and whimpered. "Go," he told the dog. Piper called him over, and he trotted up to her.

Leo got into the SUV and closed the door. The dog barked at him. Piper held him back as the car pulled out of the driveway and drove out of sight.

"Nice dog," was the first thing Mike said.

"Hey. Don't talk about my wife like that," Leo replied.

Mike held back a laugh. "What's his name?"

"Yukon."

"Was he born—"

"Yeah. In Yukon."

"And shipped to San Francisco?"

"Yes. He was born in Alaska and was part of a sled dog team there. They named him Yukon."

"Oh, really?"

"Nope." Leo smiled. They turned down a different street.

Mile rolled his eyes. "So he's just your guard dog?"

"Well, kind of…I worked the K-9 unit for four years. Yukon was two when I got him. At six, he took a bullet for me. He survived, and he's now retired and living with us," Leo explained.

"Took a bullet for you?"

"Yeah. He had spirit. It broke his heart and his pride the first few months to wake up at dawn with me and not get in the truck and go to work, too. But he's older now, and not quite the dog he was at two," Leo informed Mike.

"How am I supposed to believe all that?"

"I do not know…" Leo shook his head slowly, as if he actually cared.

"So why's your wife got a gun?" Mike brought up the subject again.

"We're almost at Joey's," Leo said, changing the subject.

"Hello? Leo?"

Leo didn't say anything, so Mike dropped the issue. They parked on the side of a street in downtown San Francisco and both got out of the car. There were street lights up, casting an orange glow over the sidewalk and buildings. "This is Joey's place. I haven't checked in on him in a couple weeks."

"And Joey is…"

"Joey had himself a little drug stash in his…club…I let him slide, but this time, if I find something, he's gotta come into the station…"

Leo and Mike looked up at the decrepit building before them. There were spray paint gang signs and phrases such as "G-Squad", "Da Pimps", and "Hookertown" on the brick. Leo shrugged and opened the heavy concrete door off to the left. Mike followed him inside.

"So this is his club?"

"Yeah. There's a hall we have to go through here to get to the actual place. It's called um…Crib, I think…The name changes by the week."

They walked down a hall and into a large room with about fifteen people in it. Music was playing and the room was filled with smoke. Makeshift chairs, couches, and coffee tables were set up here and there. Mike stood in the doorway to the room while Leo walked up to one man sitting on a removed backseat of a van.

"Joey!" Leo exclaimed with enthusiasm. "You know, Joey? _You_ are—" he flopped down on the couch and put his arm around the man's shoulder. "—_just_ the man I was looking for!"

Joey had long straight black hair, pulled into a thin braid in the back. He had a leather vest on and black leather pants. The vest had no ties or zipper and hung open, showing a muscled chest and arms. He looked at Leo with disgust. "Man, fuck you, Wyatt. I been clean," he said.

"Now tell me: how exactly am I supposed to believe someone with a mouth like that?…Where's your whore, Joe?" Leo asked, glancing around.

Joey shrugged Leo's arm off of his shoulder. "_Out_."

"How do I know that?"

"Because I told you."

"Hiya, guys!" Leo called to the other people in the room. All of them were staring at Joey. Some of them laughed. Some cursed at Leo, others greeting him in their own…special…ways. Besides the enthusiastic greeting, Leo ignored them all. "So Joe, mind if I check the place out?" he asked.

"Yes."

Leo leaned back into the chair. "You know? I like this chair," he informed no in particular. He leaned forward and picked up a small bag off the coffee table. He opened it up and smelled it. "Ah, Joey…"

"Not mine," came the rough answer.

"Yeah, but it's _your _place." Leo looked from Joey to Mike. "Joey, meet Mike. Mike, this is Joey 'I-like-to-say-fuck' Johnson."

"Yeah, _fuck you_!" Joey cut in.

"And Joey lives up to his name! Okay, Joe, Mike here is gonna take you in. We're closin' this place down."

"What the fuck, Wyatt?"

Leo nodded to Mike. "Cuff him, Kid."

* * *

They came into the station with Leo holding Joey still by his hands, leading him through the door. Mike stood at Leo's side, following him in. 

"Okay, everybody! I have an announcement to make!" Leo called. He waited for the people in the station to look up. "Joey's back!" he yelled.

"Joey!" some of the others called back, welcoming him back into the station once more.

"Been a while, Joey. I missed ya," Cortez said, walking past.

"Okay, Joey, you know the way to the back." Leo and Joey went out of sight to the back of the station.

Mike stayed back. He found Adam behind the secretary's desk, trying to pull up an old file. Amy stood behind him, fussing over how he was doing it wrong.

"Adam?"

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"Can I, uh…Can I talk to you?"

"Sure." Adam led Mike into a corner where they could talk in private. "Everything okay so far?"

"Well sure, except for the fact that he hates me."

"Ah, that's just Leo. He hates everyone before he gets to know them."

"That may be the case, but he doesn't want to get to know me."

"You want me to talk to him?"

Mike shook his head. "That'll make it worse."

Adam sighed. "Okay…Get in touch with his wife. If you can get Piper to trust you, she _should_ be able to talk some sense into Leo. She's the best one to do that."

"That's great, but he'd kill me if I went near her. He's already established that fact," Mike said.

Adam laughed. "Nah. He'd hurt ya, yeah, but he wouldn't _kill_ ya."

"He just seemed to get a little…quiet when I asked about this gun that I found in the back of the car."

"Piper's gun?"

"…Piper…That's his wife's name, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then yeah."

Adam nodded. "Oh, so you found the bag."

"Yeah, why?" Mike asked. No answer. "Anyway…I asked him why she had the gun, and he gave me the silent treatment," Mike said.

"Figures. It's uh…It's best to steer clear of that conversation…"

"Why?"

Adam didn't answer.

Mike shifted and sighed. "How am I supposed to work with him if he keeps things from me?"

"…Some things are just best left unsaid."

"What happened?" Mike persisted.

Adam sighed. "You'll have to ask him."

"Oh, good one."

"I'm serious. What happened is Piper and Leo's business. We don't talk about it and neither do they. If you want to know, I'm not the one to be asking."

* * *

It was two in the morning, and Leo was in the lounge on one of the couches, sleeping. He had taken Mike to seven different places, and they had arrested three people since Joey. 

But that wasn't what he was thinking about in his sleep. He was having a very different dream…

His brothers and dad burst in the front door of his house with Cortez and Adam just behind. They heard soft sobs coming from the living room and ran in. "She okay?" Rick asked first.

Piper was sitting on the couch, leaning against Leo's chest. She was sleeping uneasily, a sob escaping from her lips every few seconds. "No," Leo answered, slightly angered by the stupid question. He was holding Piper up to him tightly, rocking her back and forth gently. "She's traumatized." He sighed. "I think I am, too."

"Okay, Leo, I'll stay with Piper, you go in the kitchen," Rick said.

Leo nodded a little. He kissed Piper's forehead and untangled himself from her. Rick sat down on the couch and took Leo's place. She willingly fell into her father-in-law's arms.

Leo walked into the kitchen, and Ron followed him. Leo stood with his back against the island, using it for balance, staring at the floor. His brother stood in front of him.

"You feel okay?" Ron asked.

"…If I'd gotten there a minute later…" Leo trailed off, shaking his head.

"But you didn't."

"…But what if I had?" he asked, looking up with sad, scared eyes. Ron pulled Leo into a much needed hug.

Mike opened the door to the lounge and found Leo asleep. "Leo."

Leo didn't stir. He was lying on his back, and the couch was short enough so that his feet were over the edge of it. His head was on the other end. His legs were crossed and his hands were resting on his stomach.

"Leo!" Mike said in a loud whisper, almost scared to wake Leo up. "Wyatt, wake up!"

Leo jerked awake and, in a split second, grabbed his gun off of the floor, sat up, and pointed it at Mike.

"Whoa! Hey, hey, hey, I didn't do anything!" Mike defended, holding his hands up in surrender.

Leo looked from his gun to Mike and lowered the weapon. He wiped his face down with his free hand in an effort to calm himself. "What do you want, Kid?" he asked. He looked up at Mike, who was standing in the doorway.

"Phone for you."

"What line?"

"Uh, four."

Leo picked up the phone from the coffee table in front of the couch he was sitting on and pressed the _Line 4_ button.

"Wyatt."

"Girl, named Lauren, eight pounds, three ounces, blue eyes!" came over the receiver to Leo very quickly.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down there, I just woke up."

Ron took in a quick breath that Leo could here over the phone. "It's a girl. Her name is Lauren. Lauren Allison Wyatt."

"Wait, didn't we have a cousin Lauren?"

"Yeah, the one who died in the navy. That's who we named her after."

"Aw…"

"Yeah, but that's beside the point!"

Ron was obviously more excited than when he learned Marie was even pregnant, so Leo knew he wouldn't calm down too easily. He figured his brother had downed more than his share of coffee, as well.

"Okay, okay, you don't need to bite my head off."

"Okay." Ron took another breath. "She's eight pounds, three ounces."

"Good, good."

"She was born twelve minuets and…thirty-four…_thirty-five_ seconds ago."

Ron was counting the seconds. _And look, she took her first step at two thirty-three and fifty-nine point nine, nine, nine, two seconds this afternoon!_ Leo thought sarcastically.I'll have to see her tomorrow."

"No, today."

"Tomorrow, Ron. It's late."

"Leo, it's two in the morning. _Today._"

"…Oh…"

Ron was quiet for a few seconds. "Hey…You sounded a little…I dunno, _off_…when you picked up…You okay?"

"Yeah, don't worry about me. You're the one with the daughter," Leo said, trying to make his voice sound teasing.

"Yeah, well, at least we won't have three boys."

"You never know."

"Oh, but I do. If we have two more kids and they're both boys, then Marie were to have third, he's goin' up for adoption."

Leo laughed silently.

"Hey, we drove Mom and Dad crazy and you know it."

"Maybe you and Jake, but not me."

"Whatever, Leo…And you're avoiding the conversation. Now is something wrong?" Ron asked seriously.

Leo looked over his shoulder and saw Mike still standing in the doorway. "Just the usual," he said into the phone.

"It's been a year, Leo, no one's getting to Piper. He's gone," Ron promised.

"You don't know that," Leo snapped.

"…Did you ever think about seeing a shrink?"

"Ha ha, very funny."

"I'm serious. Leo, if it's still getting to you, then it's a serious problem…How's Piper?" Ron asked.

"Better than I am…Is that even right?"

"Leo, you took care of her for weeks afterward. You were on defense for months…It's right for you to lose some sleep at night."

"It's not that, Ron. I'm paranoid and this insomnia and—and it's like reverse role-play…" Leo sighed. "It's just…Something doesn't feel right about it."

Mike was listening silently, trying to make sense of what Leo was saying.

"You see? I'm not kidding, Leo. If it's this bad, you need some help outside the house. Another person to vent to. Maybe this is also getting worse because he could be out soon…"

"I don't wanna talk about it…"

"It's a possibility. Just look in to some sort of therapy or something."

"Whatever, Ron. I'll talk to you later. I'll uh…come by the hospital."

"Don't bother. Marie's dying to get out of here. She was about to murder the doctor that delivered Lauren…I'll tell you about it later."

"Okay. I'll come by your place after Jake's graduation."

"Ah, shit, I forgot. Graduation…"

"I think he'll understand. And don't swear around your baby."

"I'm in the hall."

"Whatever. You taking paternity leave?"

"I've got a week of vacation built up, so I figure I'll take it."

"Okay."

"All right, I gotta go, the baby's waking up. I'll see you tomorrow, and I'll try to make it to Jake's graduation."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Leo hung up the phone and sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at Mike. "What?"

"Can I ask what that was about? Unless it's personal, that is."

Leo knew what he was talking about, but instead he answered about the baby. "My older brother's wife just had a baby." Leo stood up and went into the main part of the station. Only about seven people were still there. He found Adam in his office and told him about the baby. "Ron's gonna take the week off, he says."

"That's good. He'll need it," Adam said from experience, being a father of three already. "Now go home, Wy…"

Leo sighed. "Well, if I wasn't stuck with a mile-high stack of paper work that _you_ gave me…"

* * *

By four in the morning, Mike found Leo at his desk, signing and reading over papers. He looked tired, but Mike could tell he wanted to stay awake. He knocked lightly on the door to Leo's office as he opened it. 

Leo didn't look up. "Didn't say you could come in."

"I invited myself. Look, can we go home now?"

"Those faxes read and signed? Talk to Adam? Check on Joey?"

"Yes, yes, and yes."

Leo looked up and stared at Mike. "You're free to go. Be in here at seven tomorrow to talk to Joey lawyers. Now git, Kid."

"What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

"Aren't you leaving, too? I mean, we're partners, right? Clock-in together, clock-out together…Anything here ringing a bell?"

"I have to stay another…" Leo looked at the stack of papers on his desk. "…hour or so…"

"Then I guess I have to stay, too, then."

"Go home."

"Make me." Mike sat down in the chair in the corner of the office.

Leo groaned. _Stubborn-ass kid…_he thought to himself.

* * *

It was a quarter past five when Leo stood up and headed for the door. No one but he and Mike were still in the station.

"Good night, I'll see you in three hours."

"You said to be here at seven."

"Right. _You_ have to be here at seven. I have to be in at eight."

"Why is that?"

"Because I've put in ten years, and you've put in ten _days_." Leo opened the front door. "Besides, I'm not the single one," he added with a derisive smile.

Piper was asleep when Leo came inside. She was laying in bed, and the television was on. Leo watched her from the doorway for a moment with a little smile before getting undressed and sliding into bed beside her under the blanket.

Piper unconsciously rolled toward Leo and snuggled up against his chest. When she felt a warm body instead of air, she immediately woke up. "Well, it's about time," she whispered.

"Hello to you, too."

Piper smiled. "Hi." She pulled Leo down to her and kissed him. "What time is it?" she asked.

"…Almost dawn. Ron called. He said the baby was born."

"…Do you have to go back in soon?"

"I have a few hours."

"…Work go well?"

"As well as possible."

"But nothing major happened?"

"No."

"You're keeping something from me," Piper noted.

Leo shifted, wrapping his arms around her. "…The uh…dream came back, is all," he mumbled.

"Oh, Leo…" Piper, who was lying on her side facing Leo, reached up and slowly ran her hand up his face and through his hair.

"Ron says I should see a shrink." Leo laughed a little, but Piper could see right through him.

"Probably," she agreed. She brought her hand around to the other side of his face before running it down his shoulder and arm to take his hand. "…I'm past it. I mean, it'll always haunt me, but…not like it does you."

**

* * *

**

**This is a lot longer...Two pages longer. Wow. Eight pages...I figured out yesterday that I've written about seven chapters worth of this story already, so that's good...I'm a _little_ bit ahead of myself!**

**I'll reread and post the next chapter soon as I can.**


	3. Therapy

**Okay, I know it's been a while...I am _so_ sorry! My computer's been messing up on me, and I couldn't get onto _any_ web site _at all_. I just fixed it. Hooray!**

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Therapy**

As Leo opened the door to the station, Joey stormed out, mumbling to himself, led by two lawyers. Leo watched them get into a black car and drive away before he went inside. "Leo!" Adam yelled, though he wasn't in sight.

"Yeah?"

"In my office!"

"You're half an hour late," Mike said to Leo as he walked past.

"Screw you."

Cortez passed by. "Wyatt! You're late!" he said.

"My wife likes morning sex," was his lie for sleeping in.

"It's been morning for a while now."

Leo shrugged and smiled like a child who was hiding something. He walked into Adam's office.

"Close the door."

"So…" Leo started as he closed the door and turned back around.

"Ron, uh…called me…recommending someone for you…I think you know what I'm talking about."

Leo glanced at the closed door and back at Adam. "…Yeah."

"So this guy's name is Mark Altman, and you will meet him in his office at ten this morning," Adam directed, handing Leo a business card.

"Adam, you didn't have to…"

"Yes, Leo, I did. We may not be blood related, but we're still brothers, and I'm not going to sit back and watch it work at you like this. Now I'm not going to go and put an ad in the paper about it. You and Piper…What happened isn't a normal thing. You have the right to this."

"…Thanks." Leo stood up and moved to leave the office.

"And Leo?"

"Yeah?"

"Lighten up on Mike a little." Leo was about to protest, when Adam continued. "Now, I'm not saying you have to invite the guy into your home or anything. You don't have to talk to him outside of work or socialize or anything of the sort, just…don't make him think you hate him as much as you really do."

"No promises."

"That's all I can ask."

* * *

"Going somewhere?" Mike asked as Leo headed for the door an hour later.

"Yes, so you can handle the little things around here and get a few hours in while I'm gone."

"Where are you going?"

"On a little trip."

"Personal or business?"

"Personal business." Leo walked out the door. Mike sighed.

* * *

Leo walked into the office at ten o'clock. It was a comfortable place, with couches on two of the walls and magazines on a table stand with a beige lamp. The walls were painted brown and everything seemed close together, finished off with a welcoming atmosphere. A man came out of an office from a hallway off to the left. He was tall, about Leo's height, with salt-and-pepper hair and thin-framed glasses. He was dressed fairly casually, in a white shirt and khakis.

"Leo Wyatt?"

Leo shifted uncomfortably. He didn't care how welcoming the place looked, he didn't like it here. "Yeah."

The man held out his hand. "My name is—"

"Mark Altman, I know."

"Your brother Ron called in asking for a favor. I owe him, so you've got my full attention for the next hour."

Leo sighed. "I can't stay long."

Mark led Leo into his office. It was light, with a green couch on the far wall and a bookshelf filled with psychology books beside it. Across from the couch was a computer desk, complete with more books, pictures of what Leo assumed to be Mark's family, and a new Microsoft desktop computer. Beside that wall, across from the door, was a window, but it was shut and the blinds were closed to shut out the sounds of the nearby highway.

"Come, sit," Mark offered. Leo groaned. He didn't sit. Mark sat down in the leather chair at the computer desk. "If you feel more comfortable talking to a woman, I have a colleague in today."

"A woman, why would it be any different?"

"Sometimes it's more comfortable for a man to talk to a woman."

Leo flopped down in the couch across from Mark. "Well, for me it's more comfortable not to talk about it at all."

"I'll take that as a no…Ron told me what happened. A year ago, he said."

"A little over, yeah."

"And it's still getting to you."

"Of course it is! She—She's my life. If I had gotten there just a minute too late, I wouldn't be here today." Leo suddenly was quiet. He hadn't expected to say so much so quickly. Hearing Mark talk about what had happened set him off. Finally he realized that he _did_ need to talk; he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"_You _wouldn't. Why do you say that?"

"If I lost her, that's it. There would be nothing to live for…"

"How did it affect you just afterward?"

"Oh, God…How _didn't_ it…I was on defense for months…Piper was in shock for a full week, and went into counseling for a couple months…I had to take a few weeks off of work…"

"Anything else?"

"I mean, I was overprotective of her…I still am, with people I don't know."

"Any examples?"

Oh…He had an example, all right. "The IA just assigned me a partner yesterday. I've never worked with a fulltime partner. The only people I've ever worked with are my family and my friends at the station, but they're not my _partners_, they're my _co_-_workers_. They're my _family._"

"So what happened with your partner?"

"I don't know. Nothing yet. He's just nosy. I feel like he's gonna ask me questions about Piper, and I can't let him into my personal life. It's not his business."

"But he's your partner."

"Right, and Piper is my _wife_."

"Okay, so what's bothering you with the uh…"

"Incident."

"Incident…now? Long-term effects."

Leo sighed. "Insomnia…These dreams of what happened, memories…I'm on edge most of the time, too. You know, looking over my shoulder, ready for anything, but not sure of what to expect…"

"That happens when someone goes through something like you two did."

"Right, but it _happened_ to _Piper_, so why am _I_ the one with this problem? I mean, she seems to be just fine. She's like the only one who can calm me down. I just…Everything is different around her."

"In what sense?"

"Like when I'm with her at home or…just anywhere with her—in public or alone—everything's okay. I can relax and just be with her without worrying or being nervous. I can be with my wife without all of this stuff weighing down on my mind…Because I know she's safe, I know she's with me and nothing can happen to her. Then when there are other people around…Like when we go out, everyone from the station, that is, I just can't leave her out of my sight for long without getting worried…"

"I can understand that. You feel protective of her. That's natural even if something hasn't happened the way it has for you and your wife. Most people feel naturally protective of their spouse, or even girlfriend or boyfriend."

"It's different."

"So how long have you felt like this?"

"Ever since it happened, but then it let up a little for a few months…A month or so ago, it came back, I guess."

"Any reason that could have triggered this?"

Yes, there were reasons. He sighed. "Um…Yeah. I worry about her being out of my sight, because I _do_ have enemies who want to get back at me…And I worry that someone might try to use her to get to me. I can't let that happen. Not again."

* * *

Mike and Leo sat at a small table in a diner, mostly passing time. Leo was just waiting for Jake to page him, letting him know to get down to the City Convention Center, otherwise known as 3-C, where the graduation would take place.

"So what are the regular hours?" Mike asked.

"Clock-in at seven, out at eight or nineish."

"Okay, so that's what a normal person follows. What're your hours?"

"Seven or eight in the morning to about…anywhere between ten and midnight."

"Why do you work later?"

"Because I get the people like Joey, so I naturally have to go in later, when the clubs and the bars are getting the most action."

"So you work with more people like Joey?"

"Ah, let's see…I got drugees, prostitutes, gigolos, johns, parole violators, guys on probation, family ordeals…" he trailed off.

"Family ordeals?"

"Neglected and beaten children, parents going at each other with chair legs when their five-month-old baby is crying in its crib, the fifteen-year-old daughter selling herself to make money for that baby and her seven-year-old brother…"

"I thought that was for D.C.F."

"Right, but someone has to split the parents up and keep them apart and care for the kids until D.C.F. gets there. Usually I call in, and someone takes the parents in, so I stay with the kids. Sometimes it's vice versa."

Mike sighed. "So that means—"

"It means you'd better not let them get to you, have a soft spot for kids, be able to see through lies, and not be squeamish."

"Well then…" Mike took a drink of his coffee.

"So why aren't you married?" Leo asked as he pulled out his pager.

"…Just haven't found the right person, I guess," Mike answered, sounding somewhat distant.

"Well, what're you doing wrong?" Leo asked as he stared at the pager, turning it over in his hands.

"_Wrong_?"

Leo looked up. "Yeah."

"Now hold on a minute. How are you supposed to give me dating advice if you were _married_ through years that most normal people are spending running around trying to find each other?"

"I have two brothers," Leo said as he put his pager away.

"So?"

"So while I was married, I watched them running around, dating and looking for _the one_," Leo answered, emphasizing on "the one" to make it sound more dramatic. "And I was _seventeen_ when I got married. Just because I've known my wife since I was about seven, it doesn't mean I didn't play the dating game in high school…for a couple years. I just…ended up with her in my teens, instead of in my twenties or thirties." Leo looked at Mike. You're…twenty-five?"

"Yeah."

"Okay, so you should at least have a girlfriend by now."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. You have to have had a serious relationship. At least one. Please say at least one. Or two."

"Yeah, a few months ago."

"What happened?" Leo asked, taking his pager out again and tapping it, hoping to get it to start beeping to tell him Jake was paging.

"About a week before I considered proposing, I found out she was cheating on me and broke it off then."

"Oh really?" Leo reverted to tapping the pager on the table.

"Yeah, and I haven't seen her or my brother-in-law since, and my sister was nearly arrested for assault."

Leo looked up. "Huh?"

"Yeah, my girlfriend was cheating on me with my sister's husband, and when she found out, she pretty much attacked her husband, then divorced him, and they are still in custody hearings over their two children."

"Oh, how wonderful."

"Yeah, my family's pretty much like that. What about yours?"

"My family? We're pretty close."

"That's it?"

"Pretty much…My wife is close to her sisters and so am I, and they're all close to my family, too."

"So you actually get along with the in-laws?"

Leo smiled. "No. Their, uh, mother died when they were young, but I never met her…Their dad stops by now and then, but he doesn't like me that much…Which is weird…because he loves my brother-in-law-in-law-to-be."

"Huh?"

"A guy at another station is engaged to my wife's sister," Leo explained.

"Oh."

Leo's cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his jacket pocket and looked at the number with a smug smile. He flipped open the phone. "Hello, you have reached Wal-Mart Customer Service."

"_Where the hell are you_?" Jake's voice came over the cell phone.

"Hello to you, too," Leo laughed.

"Damn it, Leo, _Piper's_ already here!"

He immediately stopped laughing. "She is?"

"Yes, she's right here next to me. Mind joining?"

"Okay I'll—I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Okay. Hurry."

"I'm out the door."

"No you're not. I don't hear your footsteps."

"_Goodbye_. I'll be there."

"Ten minutes. You promised."

"Goodbye." Leo hung up on his brother as Jake started to speak again. He looked at Mike. "Time to go."

* * *

The drive back to the station was quiet, though Jake called twice to yell at Leo to "get his ass down here—now". When they were about two blocks away from the station, Mike asked, "So you never told me why your wife—what's her name again?"

"…Piper."

"Why Piper had a gun."

"Look, I got about two minutes to get down to the Three-C, and it's five minutes from here. I don't have time to talk."

Mike saw through the bad cover. "Talking doesn't slow you down. Why's she got it?" he asked again.

Leo didn't answer.

"Leo?"

"What?" He sounded irritated. He was.

"How come?"

"Look, it's not your business, okay? So just butt out."

"I'm just curious. I mean, we're partners."

"Yes, you and me, not you and Piper. What she does is none of your business. What _I_ do is none of your business."

"But it is. If you're my business, and she's yours—"

"Drop it."

"—then that gives me a right to know."

In one swift motion and without swerving the car an inch, Leo grabbed his gun from the back seat and pointed it straight at Mike's head. "When I tell you to drop it, you drop it. Got it?" he asked.

Mike nodded. After a few seconds, Leo put the gun away. He pulled off the road and drove right up to the station, stopping parallel to the steps. Adam was standing out there, watching the SUV with question. The front passenger door opened and Mike stepped out. Just as he closed the door, the SUV drove away, peeling out as it did so. Mike walked up the steps and stopped in front of Adam.

"What happened?"

Mike shrugged. "I tried asking about Piper. I asked about the gun."

"And…"

"And he put a gun to my head."

* * *

**Hope you liked it. I should have the next one up soon. By the way, the next chapter to Houses is coming along...slowly, but surely, as are all the others.**


	4. Graduation

**Chapter 4 - Graduation**

Leo ran up to the door of the City Convention Center. Parking had been hell and he'd had to walk two and a half blocks to the large building. The 3-C was used for many things: conventions, graduation ceremonies, city tournament basketball games, dirt biking shows, etc. The main part of the building was a large open gym—a _very_ large gym—that held all of the activities. Today's item on the list: college graduation.

Piper was there to meet him at the doors outside.

"Hey, am I late?"

"No, we've got _twenty_ _minutes_." Piper kissed Leo quickly. "Jake just wanted you here early."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah." She kissed him again, this time letting the moment linger. Jake stepped out of the and cleared his throat.

"Ahem." Piper and Leo pulled apart, and Jake held his arms out at Leo, pretending to be exasperated. "Finally, you're here!"

"Ha, ha. You're hilarious," Leo replied sarcastically. He stood with Piper against him, keeping one arm around her waist and the other in his pocket. She had one arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I am, aren't I?"

"Sure, sure. I'll be in in a minute. Go…"—Leo gestured vaguely toward the door—"get your robe on and I'll be in."

"Sure, Dad," Jake muttered.

"Funny. You should be calling _Ron_ Daddy."

"I heard. Do you think he'll make it?"

"…I don't know, but you should never doubt the oldest."

"Or the middle child," Piper added with a nod.

Leo looked down at her. He considered her words. They were both middle kids. "Right," he agreed quietly. Piper smiled up at him.

"Dad's in here with Mom, and considering you haven't _seen_ Mom in a few weeks, you probably need to get in there," Jake warned Leo.

"Ah, I think they'll understand…" Leo replied, still looking down at Piper, his face only inches from hers. She stood up on tip-toe and kissed him softly.

"Okay—Ew."

"Hey, when you're married and you don't see your wife all day, you'll be pulling her out of _business_ _meetings_ to be alone with her," Leo told his brother.

"Yeah, _very important_ business meetings…" Piper whispered.

"It was only once…" Leo defended himself.

"Whatever," Jake said, and disappeared inside the building. In the seconds the double doors were open, Piper and Leo could hear the hundreds of people inside, talking and laughing. The door closed and the sound was gone.

"Loud in there?" Leo laughed.

"Extremely." Piper glanced around her. There were some parents outside with their sons and daughters graduating from college as well, and some groups of young women and men who were graduating. They were considering what to do after college, and when they would all see each other.

Leo sighed. "Takes ya back, doesn't it?"

Piper smiled. "Yeah…" she agreed quietly. He looked down at her and kissed her. Just as the kiss deepened, Rick and Emily—Leo's mother—approached. They found Piper and Leo and Rick cleared his throat. The couple pulled apart.

"Well, well…What a welcome after three weeks," Emily joked. She was an older woman, only a year or so younger than Leo's father, with almost-silver long hair that was tied back at the moment. She had a warm glow around her at all times that made her the great woman and mother that she was. Approachable, kind, and good-hearted, that was Emily.

"Hey, Mom," Leo greeted her.

"Oh, yeah, _hey_." Emily hugged Leo. "Piper, how are you lately?"

"I am doing just fine, thank you."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it."

"You kids ready to come in, or should we wait a little longer?"

"We're coming. Jake is due to come force us in there anytime now, anyway."

Piper and Leo followed Emily and Rick inside the large building. They found themselves inside a huge room that resembled an indoor stadium. They came in between two sections of seating, and in the great space before them there were chairs placed in rows for the graduating students, an elevated podium with a microphone for the Valedictorian and other speakers. Parents, family, and friends not graduating sat in the surrounding stands.

Jake was standing somewhere nearly underneath a part of one of the sections of stands. He was surrounded by his friends. Most of them were wearing their black graduation robes and holding their caps. There were a few who had already graduated a year before or were going to graduate next year and were dressed casually. One of them stood out to Leo's eyes, a petite redheaded girl with her arm around Jake.

As Leo's younger brother, Jake spent a lot of time with him, and he and Piper knew most of his closer friends. But neither of them knew this girl, she was new to them. Leo glanced over at his parents, who shrugged.

Jake looked up to see his family. "'Bout time."

Leo offered his brother a sarcastic smile but no words.

"Hey, Leo, how's the job goin'?" Alex asked. Alex Monroe, a shorter, almost redheaded man with very light freckles and a New York accent (because he moved from Brooklyn to San Francisco six months ago) was a good friend of Jake's. They had gone through police training in the same unit and had most of the same classes.

"Don't worry, you've got plenty to look forward to."

Rick nodded his agreement. "Yeah, we've got some j-walkers that need some _serious_ interrogation," he joked.

"So when's our party?" Jake asked.

"What party?" Leo looked at Piper. "You throwing them a party?"

Piper was standing against Leo comfortably. "Uh uh, no party here." She shook her head.

"They're teasing you. It's tomorrow night at Hell's Haven. Be there at seven," Emily said.

Hell's Haven was the bar that the members of the 12th Precinct could be found in their spare time and at parties. Adam's brother owned it, his sister managed it, and their friends worked there. It was a little bit on the outside of town, where they could party and roughhouse and have fun on weekends when they were off duty.

"And graduating into police work at the San Francisco 12th Precinct are Joshua Alton…"

Josh, a tall black-haired, brown-eyed, sarcastic friend of Jake's walked up the stage, shook hands with who he needed to, and got the papers they handed him. People whistled and hollered and clapped, and Piper caught his mother's eye, a few aisles down. Rick and Emily had moved closer to the stage, and Piper and Leo stayed in far back places where they could stand against a wall and watch instead of having to find a seat somewhere with all of the people below them.

"Kevin Dell…" the announcer said as Kevin, a blonde, blue-eyed party boy, went up on the stage. Just as they had for Josh, the crowd clapped, and groups of friends screamed a whistled and hollered. Some made signs and held them up proudly. Cameras flashed.

"Alex Monroe…" As Alex took the stage, a large group of women stood up from their seats down in the rows of people who were waiting to get their diplomas and screamed and whistled and called his name.

Suddenly Ron jogged up to Piper and Leo. "Hey, did he go up yet?"

"What are you doing here?" Leo asked, shocked to see his brother.

"Came to see my brother's graduation, of course. What, did you think I'd miss it?" Ron looked back and forth from the stage to Leo.

"Where's Marie?"

"At home with the baby."

"Shh," Piper said. "Jake's next."

"And Jacob Wyatt," the man on the stage announced into the microphone. A large group of women stood up and screamed for Jake, too. Piper looked up at Leo, trying her best to hold back a laugh.

Leo shrugged. "What can I say, he takes after me." Piper hit his arm playfully. "What? It's the Wyatt charm." His eye caught one woman sitting in the crowd, standing up and cheering for Jake. He nudged Piper and nodded toward the woman.

"Guess he's got one particular fan, huh?" Piper asked, referring to the redheaded woman.

"What's with all the women cheering for Jacob?" Ron asked.

"Apparently…it's the Wyatt charm," Piper answered, with sarcasm written all over her voice.

* * *

Nearly an hour later, everyone stood outside the City Convention Center. The woman from before the ceremony and in the crowd came up to them and stood by Jake. She had long straight red hair and blue eyes, and was wearing blue jeans and a black tank top.

"Oh, hey, Alyssa," Jake greeted her. "Uh, Alyssa, this is some of my family…My parents, my brother Ron, my other brother, Leo, and his wife, Piper," Jake introduced Alyssa to them all. She offered polite smiles and little hi's to them. "Family, this is Alyssa McCoy." They offered her the same smiles and little hellos that she had.

It was Rick who shook her hand and said, "Nice to meet you."

"So you're all on the force?" Alyssa asked.

"Not the women," Rick answered.

Emily smiled. "I teach third grade."

"And you teach, as well?" Alyssa asked Piper.

"Uh, no…I own a restaurant downtown. Gluttony's Wife."

"Oh, yeah, I've been there. I like it." Alyssa turned around to Jake. "You didn't tell me your sister-in-law owned Gluttony."

"You didn't ask. And don't think of her as my sister-in-law, think of her as…"

"Hey Jake?" Leo asked with a small but threatening smile.

He looked up. "Yeah?"

"Finish that sentence and I break out the baby pictures."

* * *

**Okay, I have two things really to say... a) Alyssa's name has nothing to do with Alyssa Milano. I have a friend (actually two) named Alyssa. b) She's a redhead because I _love_ red hair. I've got brownish-black hair, but my step-mom has red hair, and so do a couple of girls at my school. It's almost my favorite hair color. (brunettes, we take the lead with #1!)**

**All right, I know from the summary that you guys know that _something_ is going to happen to _someone_ _very close to Leo_. You've probably all guessed it, but you all have _no idea_. The tragedy won't happen for a while, though, because there are too many things that need to be cleared up before that happens...**

**Don't forget to review! I love 'em!**


	5. Hell's Haven

**Okay, this is Chapter 5, and actually, Chapter 6 is kinda like Chapter 5 continued. You'll understand later.**

**Okay, I wanna try this whole thanking everybody individually...**

**patricia: The past tradegy is bad...the next one is worse. Just how sad it is depends on how you take it, and how evil I am (and I'm evil). Sorry, but what happened to them will remain a mystery for a few more chapters. I can't seem to fit in a place to explain it...but I will! Promise!**

**foureverCharmed: Your name reminds me of that song "Forever Young"...Never mind me...Patience is good. It's very good. Glad you love it, and I know it's hard!**

**kk241289: I'm sure you're clueless. I'm glad. Actually, I'm quite pleased.**

**Pink Volleyballs: Thanks. Love ur name. You play volleyball?**

**scullymulder1234: OMG! I updated--like you asked!**

**pip: I know it's good. (can I say egotistic?)**

**MayOst: Thanks:-) It's one of my favorites!**

**piperleo4eva: To update or not to update...I like it. But I don't think it's a question. I shall update whether you want me to or not! ha ha! And yes, we do need to come up with something better than "update soon". I agree. By the way, Brunettes always have more fun! We party on every day that ends with "y"!**

**meenyrocks: What did I say about Piper? Did I miss something? Oh, the redhead is Jacob's girlfriend, but no one's met her yet, is all. She's not like a terrorist or anything...lol...She could show up in later chapters, though I don't have all too much use for her...**

**Nakita: You know, I had a hamster with the same name, only it was Makita...I named her after a power tool. I coulda put some more fluff in, yeah...In the situation, though, and where they were and all, it was the best I could do. I'm pretty sure this has the same-ish amount of fluff, but that's because they're drunk.**

**Chub: Um...You're welcome?**

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Hell's Haven**

The next day, the Wyatts led their new coworkers into the police station. Jake had already been there before but Kevin, Josh, and Alex had not.

"Welcome to our world…" Leo started. "Okay, let's give a warm welcome to our new grunt workers: Josh Alton, Kevin Dell, Alex Monroe, and—drum roll please…" Leo paused a second. "Jacob Wyatt!"

"Oh God, another Wyatt," Jamie, another officer, sighed. She was kind and easy to work with, but she had a little bit of a narcissistic relationship with her blonde hair.

"Hey! What's so bad about being a Wyatt? You're just jealous," Ron said.

"Jealous about _what_?"

"Lots of things!"

"A whole wagon-full!" Jake added to defend his brother.

"Oh really?" Jamie questioned, raising one eyebrow. "And what might some of those things be?"

The three Wyatt brothers took turns speaking.

"Charm," Ron said.

"Sex," Leo put in.

"Apparently, considering this new girlfriend I heard little Jacob has…" Jamie laughed to herself.

Jake struck a pose and a dramatic stage voice. "Yes, the girls love me…My hair, my eyes, my ass—"

"Jeez, are you the gay one?" Adam asked Jacob, walking past them.

Mike ran up to Leo from the back office. "We've got a problem."

* * *

It was a scene, too. An eight-year-old girl holding her baby sister tight, trying to stop the baby from crying; a body lying in the grass with a tarp covering it, a hand sticking out; a man sitting in one of the four police cars with handcuffs. Some neighbors were coming out of their houses, others too afraid. The young girl with her baby sister stood alone in the grass, looking away from her mother's body under the tarp. She hid the baby's face in her arm and held back her tears.

Leo ran up to an officer and asked what happened.

"The dad went mad. Shot his wife in front of the two kids when they were playing outside."

"Why is the body still here? There's an ambulance right there to—"

"No one's come by to take it yet."

"Then why aren't the kids inside? Who's taking care of them?"

"You."

Leo groaned. "Fine, then I'll take the case and file the report." He glared at the officer and ran onto the lawn and up to the little girl. He knelt in front of her. "Hey, do you know who I am?" he asked softly.

The girl nodded. She didn't look at him. "Cop."

* * *

"So you think she'll be okay?" Mike asked. He and Leo were on their way to Hell's Haven, but Mike didn't know that yet. They had spent almost three hours finding a social worker, handing the girl over to DCFS with all the papers, and filing the report.

"No." Leo's eyes were glued to the road. The sun was setting, and they had just left the station. "The little girl and her sister will go into the care of foster parents. They're never okay…"

"Right. Hey, where are we going?"

"Hell's Haven."

Mike knew what Hell's Haven was, and he, like many other people in the outskirts of San Francisco, had been there before. "Why?"

"We rented it out for the night. We're getting a few people sworn in."

"Who?"

"Some new guys and my brother. We have a party when someone new comes." Leo paused a few seconds. "And you didn't get one because the IA _assigned_ you. If you had graduated into the station, we'd be having a party for you, too."

"Gee, thanks. So who'll all be there?"

"Everyone from the station."

"What, no families?"

"Oh, yeah, wives, too, if that's what you mean. Well…and Jamie's boyfriend, and the other girls' husbands."

"So does that mean I get to meet Piper?" Mike asked. He'd been meaning to talk to Leo's wife. Adam had said that she was the one who could help Leo warm up to him, even if only a little bit.

"That means you get to stay away from her."

"Okay, okay."

* * *

It only took a few minutes to get to Hell's Haven. When they did, Piper was standing just inside the door, watching them. When the doors on either side of the car opened and Mike and Leo stepped out, she came outside with her arms out.

"Well, well, well, look who blew in!" She made her way up to him, but didn't yet acknowledge Mike. Truth be told, she was focused on Leo, and hadn't really noticed Mike yet. "Hey," she said with a smile. He smiled back at her and she pulled him down for a passionate kiss.

"Hey, Baby."

She grinned. "I've been here a while, you know."

"I can tell." He could smell and taste the tequila on her breath. She must have thrown down a shot or two already. "So where's my little Jakey-poo?" he joked.

"Inside," Piper answered. When Leo didn't respond, she added, "Yeah, I know, Alyssa's inside, too."

"Mmm, how do you know what I'm thinking?" Leo asked, pulling Piper up to him.

She moved up closer so that her lips were barely touching his. "I'm _physic_," she whispered.

"You must be." Leo kissed her.

When they pulled apart, Piper stepped back a half a step. "Okay, Ron's here, but only for like ten minutes, because Marie's gonna page him pretty soon, I think. And if she doesn't, he'll come up with an excuse to go see Lauren. So if you want to see him, then now's the chance."

"A day old and that baby has him wrapped around her finger."

"Yeah, well…Marie's with my sisters over at Phoebe's place. I booked us to go over and see the baby tomorrow, so you're free for lunch tomorrow. I already talked to Adam." Piper nodded to herself.

"And if something comes up?"

"Then you'd better put your niece before your job," Piper warned, "or there'll be hell to pay. And I mean from me, too. Eighteen years means nothing to me if you skip out on family," Piper warned.

Leo held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, I'll be there. I promise." He remembered Mike, who was standing a few feet away from them. He cleared his throat. "Piper, this is my, uh, partner, Mike Connor. Mike, this is my wife, Piper."

Piper shook Mike's hand, giving him the once-over. He seemed nice enough, a good-looking guy. Leo had already told her how much he hated working with partners, so she knew that his man would probably have a hard time. "Well, it's nice to meet you, Mike."

"Likewise."

Piper smiled. She had already decided to keep the talk small to a minimum and stick close to her husband and keep him out of trouble.

From across the parking lot inside the bar, there was a roar of cheering suddenly and someone was thrown out a large open window of Hell's Haven. Piper, Leo, and Mike looked toward the bar and saw Jake scrambling to his feet from the ground.

"Welcome to the precinct!" Adam's voice came from inside.

Just as Jake made it to his feet and brushed his clothes off with his hands, Kevin was also thrown out the window at him. They toppled over to the ground and Josh and Alex hit the ground.

"I swear, I turn my back on them for _one minute_ and they do something like this!" Piper groaned. "I'll be inside," she told Leo. She turned away and stomped off toward the bar. "I can't even trust them for a single minute! They're like little _kids_! They just need a babysitter! _Get a new babysitter!_" she yelled, thinking out loud to herself. She opened the door to the bar. "What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Leo and Mike could hear her yell.

"So that's Piper."

Leo grinned. "Yeah."

"She looked like she'd had a few drinks."

"Yeah," he said again. He licked his lips and could taste the tequila from Piper's mouth still on him. "C'mon."

They walked through the parking lot, went inside, and found a group of people around a table, counting seconds aloud. As they moved forward, they saw that Piper was racing Adam and Cortez. Each of them had a mug of beer. Piper finished first and slammed hers down on the table. "Time!"

"Damn it!" Cortez leaned back in his seat.

"Hey hey, boys, who kicked your sorry asses?" Piper asked Adam and Cortez. She stood up from the table and Adam's wife Kristina handed her a bottle of Bud Light. Piper thanked her and found Leo. "Guess what I did?" She sounded like a child.

"What'd you do?"

"I whipped 'em."

He patter her on the back. "Good girl!"

"Don't I get a victory reward?" she asked slyly.

He looked down at her, watched her take a long pull of beer. When he spoke, they both knew he was joking, but he sounded so serious. "Sure. Take another shot, drink another beer, sing another song, and meet me in the storage room in an hour."

* * *

**Holy crap, watch this! >> omg! >> $&() ! weeeeeeeee! oh my god, are they really back? Is it true? Damn, what are we gonna complain about now?**

**I'll get the next one up this weekend. I'm having some fun with this fic...**


	6. Joy to the World

**How's everyone doing? Hey, I kept up my promise--it's Sunday, and here's the next chapter...Hey, do we have to write a disclaimer for every chapter? Lord knows I'm not gonna do that! Trust me, if I don't own the first chapter, I'm not gonna own the next!**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed:**

**scullymulder1234: Not only that, but I think we got back everything! Even percent signs and plus signs ****and sideways carrots (>> ...that's what I call them)!**

**kk241289: Fun, huh? Well, I'm glad you had fun reading, because I had fun writing. And even though ****you claim that you can't wait, I'm sure (actually, I know for a fact) that you have waited.**

**meenyrocks: Yeah, I did hint that the bad thing happened to Piper. If I hadn't, process of elimination ****could be used almost.**

**Nakita: I like Yukon for a name. I want a German Shepherd named Yukon, too...He's my fantasy ****dog. My dogs are mutts.**

**piperleo4eva: Hyper some? Oh, and the window thing? It was a really big window, and it was open and ****all...I got the idea from watching my dad...Don't ask.**

**foureverCharmed: Yes, Piper was drunk. I'm working on the other stories. So far, besides this one, ****Myth is in the lead.**

**Chub: I don't know what to say, either!**

**Magical Princess: Gotta love me, too! I'm the one who wrote it!**

**patricia: Oh, don't worry about the tradegy...be afraid...be very afraid...**

**This chapter is set at Hell's Haven still. They haven't left.**

* * *

**Chapter 6- Joy to the World**

An hour and a half later, a man entered Hell's Haven alone. He was tall and thin, with short-cut blonde hair and bright hazel eyes. He was dressed in dark blue jeans, his upper body covered by a closed leather coat. He walked up to the bar counter and sat down on a stool, where he observed the scene. There were still drinking competitions going on, and there was a group of people on the stage, setting up the karaoke machine. The bar was still packed. It was twelve-thirty in the morning.

A few seats down, where the bar ended and met the wall, Leo was sitting on the last stool, with Piper sitting on his lap straddling him, kissing him passionately. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he held her close with one arm below her waist, the other around her lower back.

The man sitting at the bar looked at them and shook his head with a smile. He got up and walked over. He cleared his throat and tapped Piper on the back. She jumped and pulled away from Leo before looking up at the man. The immediate reaction of annoyance faded quickly as her face lit up in a smile. "Kyle!"

"You know, I came in this bar and I thought to myself, where would I find Piper and Leo? Then it hit me: you guys are always the couple sitting at the bar making out. So I came over here and here you are!" Kyle explained sarcastically.

"Kyle, what do you think you're doing here?" Leo asked, not bothering to release his hold on Piper.

"I was in town."

"You live in _Colorado_," Piper pointed out.

"Exactly, so where's my hug?"

Piper immediately stood up and wrapped Kyle up in a hard embrace. She sat back down on Leo's lap, feeling his hands come up around her waist by habit. Kyle held his arms out at Leo in a sarcastic gesture of an "air hug".

"Ah, fine." Kyle and Leo pulled out their guns. They hit the two barrels against each other. "Next time, I got a feeling you'll shoot me."

"I was going to this time," Leo said, shifting a little to put the gun back under his coat. "It's been a year and a half, Kyle. Where the hell have you been?"

"At home with my daughter, which is nothing you would know about." Kyle glanced from Piper to Leo. "When _are_ you two going to have a baby?"

"Different subject. How long are you here for?" Leo asked. He sounded cold, he wanted the subject to change.

"'Til I get bored."

"You're never leaving, are you?"

Kyle laughed. He was a young man, only a couple of years younger than Leo, with a thin but strong build. He was an architect and had grown up with the Wyatts and Halliwells. They always teased him because his last name was Brady, but he never really had the "Brady Family Life". He was an only child, so he was found a lot around Leo and his brothers. He never knew his mother because she had walked out on him and his father after he was born. His father died when he was twelve, and he was sent to live with his father's sister, who luckily lived only on the other side of San Francisco, so he didn't have to move away too far. He moved to Colorado five years ago, where he met the woman he married three years ago. They had a daughter who would be turning two in a month. No one from San Francisco had seen or talked to him in too long.

"No, I do have to go sometime."

"So where's the family?" Piper asked.

"I'm alone this time."

"Great, that means I have to hang out with the guys," Piper complained.

"Right, like that's ever been a problem for you, Piper."

"Right…" Piper replied mockingly. She saw Mike coming their way and nudged Leo. "Mike, twelve o'clock."

"Michael!" Leo called, immediately wondering why he had done it.

Mike walked up to them. Leo didn't look as if he was about to bite his head off, but his arm was wrapped protectively around his wife. He nodded his hello, and Leo introduced him to Kyle, making no move to get up.

Leo nodded toward Mike. "Uh…Kyle, this is my new partner, Michael…"

"Connor."

"Connor," Leo repeated Mike.

"Ah, shit, Wy, you didn't mention anything like that," Kyle said, rolling his shoulders. This wasn't what he expected.

Leo stared at Mike as he spoke. "Yeah, I was hoping if I just ignored him, he'd go away. It obviously hasn't worked…" He looked back at Kyle.

Kyle shook Mike's hand. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you in person, and not in a casket…" Kyle shook his head. "I can't believe Adam went and stuck you with a partner Wy."

"He didn't, the IA did."

"Why?"

Leo shrugged.

"I'll uh…I'll be right back," Piper said.

"Where to?"

Piper gave Leo a little smile. "I think I'm going to have a chat with Mike." She looked at him for a second and looked back at Leo. "He _is_ part of the station, and your partner, whether you like it or not."

Leo didn't answer at first, just stared up at his wife. Then he barely nodded. Piper kissed him softly and stood up. She nodded for Mike to follow her as she walked away.

"Tough luck," Kyle said, watching them go. Leo nodded. "Not only that, but now Piper's gonna get to know him and try to convince you to like him, too."

"Key word: _try_."

Kyle chuckled and took a seat.

"Ron had a baby," Leo said.

"Wow, Ron himself? Lemme guess, it was a C-Section."

"Ass," Leo muttered. "But yeah. A baby girl."

"You're next, you know, Leo."

"Quit talkin' trash."

* * *

Piper stood against the wall in the back of the bar. "Okay, I figured this would be the only time I could talk to you, because I also figured you were told to stay away from me," she said. "Am I right?"

Mike nodded. "In some subtle ways, yes."

Piper sighed. "You have to excuse Leo sometimes. He's mostly threats. He wouldn't hurt you, not really. I know that. He's got a good heart, and he'd never hurt anybody on his own will…But you just have to be careful. Don't hold it against him. I mean, he's just…" Piper sighed. "Jumpy…Protective…" She trailed off. "It's not his fault."

"I get that he feels like I'm taking over his territory, but really, if I knew it was going to be this big of a deal to him, I would've tried to back out of it. But the IA said they thought something was going to happen so…"

Piper nodded. "Right, I know. I've tried to get Leo to get a partner before, but he refused. I think that could be part of the problem. They just think he might get hurt, and I understand that…I've thought about it, too. Just don't hold anything against him."

"I'm not, it just seems like he's acting as if it's my fault."

"That's Leo. He's a hell of a guilt tripper, better than me if I'm honest, and I'm the one who taught him. Don't let him get to you…"

Rick walked up, scratching the stubble of his two-day-old beard in thought. "Hey, Piper. Mike."

"Kyle's here," Piper informed her father-in-law.

"Kyle? Where?"

"Over with Leo." She nodded to the opposite wall of the bar, but couldn't see Leo and Kyle for all the people on the floor of the open room. "Go see him."

* * *

Leo looked up at the clock. One-thirty. Kyle had long-ago disappeared somewhere into the bar to reunite with old friends. He looked up at Piper, who was standing on the stage. She had a microphone in one hand, and a half empty bottle of beer in the other. She tapped the bottom of the beer bottle to the top of the microphone. "Get this thing workin'!" she yelled behind her.

"Hold on, Piper," Cortez yelled back at her from the side of the stage.

Jake walked up and looked at the karaoke machine. The microphone wasn't working. He took another glance at it and kicked it. Piper's incoherent muttering was magnified throughout the bar.

"Finally!" she shouted. "Okay, can I have everybody's attention!" She waited a few seconds. "Hey! Over here! Hello?" A few seconds passed before everyone was fairly quiet. "All right, we're pushing the band aside for a karaoke special!"

There was a cheer.

"We're gonna hear a song from Alex Monroe, Josh Alton, Kevin Dell, and, drum roll please…" The drummer in the band started a drum roll. "Jake Wyatt!"

Half the crowed booed, half cheered. Piper laughed. She handed the microphone to Alex, jumped off the stage, and ran back over to Leo.

"What did you put in?" he asked, eyes fixated on the commotion going on onstage. The four men looked absolutely wasted, having the time of their lives.

"You'll see." Piper gave him a little-kid smile. "Play it!" she yelled at Cortez. He put the CD in and pressed _Play_.

Jeremiah was a bullfrog!

A large cheer went up.

Was a good friend of mine

I never understood a single word he said

But I helped him a' drink his wine

And he always had some mighty fine wine

Piper sang along with the words. She sat back in Leo's lap, one leg on either side of him, and he leaned against the bar counter. She leaned forward and lay on his chest, resting her head between his neck and shoulder.

"Someone's gonna need to give them a ride home…" she whispered. Leo just smiled at her.

Singin' _joy to the world _

All the boys and girls

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

And joy to you and me

If I were the king of the world

I tell you what I'd do

I'd throw away the cars and the bars and the war

And make sweet love to you

On the last line of the verse, Piper looked up and mouthed the words. She smiled and Leo smiled back at her. He pulled her down and covered her mouth with his in a deep kiss.

Singin' joy to the world

All the boys and girls

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

Joy to you and me

When they pulled apart, Piper tossed her head and pulled her hair behind her shoulders. "It's just too bad you're just a cop…Cops aren't kings…"

"Hmm…We'll see."

Piper giggled and Leo kissed her again.

You know I love the ladies

I love to have my fun

I'm a hard knock flyer and a rainbow rider

And a straight shootin' sun of a gun

I said a straight shootin' sun of a gun

Joy to the world

All the boys and girls

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

Joy to you and me

"So where'd Kyle run off to?" Leo asked, dropping his head to his wife's shoulder momentarily to catch his breath.

"Um…He's around here somewhere…But for now…" Piper flashed him a sultry smile and kissed him again. When she started to pull back, he held fast and she didn't object.

Joy to the world

All the boys and girls

Joy to the world

Joy to you and me

Joy to the world

All the boys and girls

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

Joy to you and me

Joy to the world

Joy to you and me…

Joy to the world

All the boys and girls

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

Joy to you and me

Joy to the world

All the boys and girls

Joy to the fishes in the deep blue sea

Joy to you and me

Joy to the world

All the boys and girls…

"Joy to the world!" someone yelled. "Drinks all around!"

Everyone cheered and hollered.

* * *

At two-thirty, the bar started clearing out. Jake stood out front on the sidewalk with one arm around Alyssa's shoulders, half asleep. Alex, Kevin, and Josh stood against the brick building. Ron was already gone, and Mike had left, too. The only people left were Piper, Leo, Jake and his friends, Alyssa, Rick, Emily, Kyle, Adam, Kristina, and Cortez. Even the owners of the bar were gone.

"I'm not leaving here 'til I know how you kids are all getting home," Emily said. "You're all drunk, so let me know now—Who's driving?"

Piper shifted her position a little. Leo was standing behind her, his arms around her waist and locked around her stomach, resting his forehead between her shoulder and neck, nodding every now and then when someone spoke. "I'll drive us home," she said with a reassuring nod.

"These two are mine," Kristina said, pointing to Adam and Cortez.

"I can take Josh back to his place and Alex and Kevin back to their apartment. Jake's on the way, so I can drop him off, too," Alyssa volunteered.

"What about you, Kyle?"

"Me Kyle? Kyle has a hotel room three blocks from here. Kyle good." Kyle nodded to himself, giving Emily a thumbs-up, then becoming fascinated by it. "Kyle walk," he muttered, staring at his thumb. He laughed and made a thumbs-up with his other hand, then laughed again.

"Okay," Emily said. She looked at Piper, holding Leo up. "You sure you're okay, Piper? You won four drinking contests—"

"I'm fine, Emily. Don't worry," Piper assured her mother-in-law. "I will get us both home safe. I can even walk a straight line."

Leo hadn't moved an inch. He nodded a little, though, and mumbled something. "Home safe, Mom. Don't worry."

Piper looked over her shoulder, but all she could see was Leo's head. "Go back to sleep," she told him.

Leo nodded again. "Okay."

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed! In the next chapter, there's a visitor, but I'll cover him a little more in Chapter 8. There's also a small portion somewhat on women's rights...Oh, and Leo gets hurt. Moahahahaha!**

**The song was Three Dog Night's Joy to the World. I love that song! I don't own it, but me and my step-mom karaoke it.**


	7. Never Work on a Day Off

**Hello! On the request of Nakita, here's the update! (I was going to wait until Saturday, but no...)**

**By the way, thanks for the reviews:**

**scullymulder1234: I know...I love the line, too...He shouts it when we play music in the garage and living room. He come walkin' in with the dog jumping around and he's like, "Turn that shit UP!"**

**kk241289: Fun must be...good. Right?**

**winter blaze: Funny's good! Funny's very good! Thanks!**

**piperleo4eva: My family rocks! As soon as my brother finishes his second year of college, he's movin' out, my mom & my step-dad don't live together (not until we buy another house...they're weird), my dad, my step-mom, me, and my dad's friend party every weekend and karaoke. Oh yeah. We rock!**

**patricia: Yes. Leo get's hurt...All I can say is he doesn't die...yet...Moahahahaha! I have the power!**

**meenyrocks: Hope you didn't get into too much trouble!**

**Magical Princess: If I think of anyone who doesn't like "Joy to the World", I'll eliminate them. The 28 days thing...What?**

**Nakita: I have a Three Dog Night c.d. I learned that song through my dad, and because I listened to it halfway up that 13-hour drive to Canada. I'll probably use more of them in this story here and there.  
I know, I am the fluff goddess! I rule! I rock! I'm egotistic!**

**Chub: Yeah, I like making them a little more carefree, because the second half (not yet, though) of this chapter is a lot more serious.**

**jenny: I try to make it funny. You won't find out the major, major thing for a while, though, and I'm certainly not gonna tell you. There are some other bad things in Piper and Leo's lives that you'll find out about soon, though.**

* * *

**Chapter 7 - Working on a Day Off**

The next day was Sunday, and Leo was off duty. Currently, he was in the backyard playing with the dog with Andy, Prue's fiancée. Piper was in the living room talking with her sisters, giving them a recap of the night they'd missed.

"It was really just the usual. We drank, sang, and drank some more. At the end of the night, Emily made sure everyone left still had a way home," Piper said.

"And after you got back home?" Phoebe asked with a little giggle, though she was trying to be serious. She pushed her dark blonde hair back behind her shoulders and grinned.

"And what happened after we got home is none of your business."

"So does this mean we get to guess?" Phoebe asked.

Piper closed her eyes and shook her head with a laugh. "Whatever. Knock yourselves out."

"Okay, um…Okay, they've been married nearly eighteen years, and they were both kinda drunk, so expect the unexpected," Prue said matter-of-factly.

"Uh huh." Phoebe nodded. She leaned over on the couch and whispered in Prue's ear. They started whispering back and forth and giggling. Prue grabbed a pen and paper and started scribbling.

"So how close is this?" Phoebe held up the picture and giggled.

It was a make-shift drawing. There was a stick figure facing a plus sign, followed by a bottle, drawn half-empty. Beside that was another plus sign and another stick figure. Then there was an equal sign, followed by the words "morning after pill".

Piper took the drawing in her hands as her sisters' giggling continued on. She looked at the picture to find that one stick figure had another little line going up between the "legs", and the other had breasts. Her mouth dropped open.

"Oh my God…"

At that, Prue and Phoebe burst out laughing. "Of course, with some added details that we left out," Prue managed to say. Piper watched with wide eyes as her sisters went on to guess about the night before. She shook her head a little.

"…You think we covered it all?" Phoebe asked a couple of moments of guessing later, after covering everything from sneaking into someone else's swimming pool to inviting over a third friend.

"Hmm…Maybe." Prue looked at Piper. "Did we?"

"…I am _not_ going to answer that question…"

Prue and Phoebe burst out laughing again. "She probably ended up tied to the bedposts," Phoebe said.

Piper abruptly shook her head. "As…interesting…and fun as that is, I was drunk, and it seemed a little too submissive to men at the time."

"True, true."

"I dated a guy once who liked to use ties a little _too_ much," Phoebe said offhandedly. "It was a long time ago. He was really possessive and stuff…He made all these decisions for me and I never got a word in…Then he wanted me to do all these things for him like cook dinner and dress up and get him coffee and stuff…"

"Yeah, but Phoebe liked the dress up part," Piper teased.

Phoebe smiled a little. "But he was just really possessive. Not _abusive_, but…controlling. I hated it."

"A lot of women are mistreated that way," Prue offered.

Piper looked back and forth between her sisters. First they were guessing about what she and her husband had done last night, and now they were bordering on talk about women's rights. She looked up as Leo and Andy walked through the living room. "Oh, wait. Leo, Andy, c'mere," she stopped them.

The two stopped and looked at the three women. "What?"

"Okay, I have a question. Leo, what do you think about how women have been treated in the past?" Phoebe asked.

Leo took a deep breath. He was used to random questions from the Halliwell sisters. "I…think that women have been treated unfairly in the past and present. They weren't allowed to make decisions regarding their lives or their families' lives, and for hundreds of years, women were perceived as humans who were here to bear children and take care of a family while the men earned the money and made political decisions. Men have been possessive and selfish of women, and some are taking it. Uh, i.e. you see prostitutes selling themselves to men, um, Playboy magazine is just filled with women who are showing themselves to the country, degrading themselves."

"Don't complain," Andy interrupted.

Leo ignored him. "You see little girls no younger than nine or ten putting on makeup to impress boys who don't even care, girls who are in middle and high school that are anorexic and bulimic to keep a figure that makes them weigh pounds less than they're supposed to. Girls and women are constantly being degraded by society, yes, and quite frankly, it's sickening. And then you get women to get into abusive relationships because of low self-esteems or something of the sort. Some of them are able to escape it, but some can't. That would be one of the reasons I'm on the force." He finished with a nod.

"Uh…What he said," Andy agreed.

"See? My husband is very passionate about his work," Piper said proudly, leaning back on the couch.

"Okay, Leo, seeing as how you're on a roll, where do you stand on oral sex?" Phoebe asked, smiling wide.

Leo looked at Phoebe as if she were crazy. "I think it's not something I would sit in a living room and talk to my sister-in-laws about."

"Okay, then talk to _me_," Piper said. When Leo gave her the same look he gave Phoebe, she said, "Oh, come on, Leo, we've been married nearly eighteen years. Tell them how _flexible_ I am!" She smiled, kicking a leg up in the air. "Hell, tell them how flexible I _was_…" she added.

Leo just smiled back and shook his head. The doorbell rang. "Oh, thank God," he whispered as he went to answer it.

Andy stayed in the living room. He sat down beside Prue and crossed his legs, clasping his hands over one knee. "So, girls, what's _up_?" he asked in a high-pitched girly voice. Prue pushed him over, and he fell to the floor.

In the other room, Leo opened the front door to reveal a silver-haired man in his late fifties. The visitor's dark eyes changed from a smile to a frown. "…Victor…" Leo muttered.

"Leo. How, uh…good to see you again, Piper home?"

"Um, yeah, come in…" Leo led Victor into the living room. "Piper," he said, nodding toward her dad.

"Dad!" All three sisters ran up to hug their dad. Leo and Andy managed to sneak out.

"So what's with you and Victor? He still doesn't like you?" Andy asked as the two walked out the front door.

"Nope."

"Well, it's been over twenty years since you and Piper first started _dating_. Why can't he let up?"

"I think the fact that I married his daughter when we were seventeen has something to do with it."

"Yeah, but I think it's the fact that you _bedded_ his daughter at seventeen that really started this…"

"Well, sleeping with her can't help…like it's gonna stop me," Leo added. Andy laughed. "—and the fact that I'm a cop doesn't help much either, does it?"

"Nope."

"But he's the one who only comes by every month or so, so whatever his problem is, I'm not getting in it."

"You mean any further than you already are."

"Right." Leo laughed.

A crackling came from their left. They glanced to the driveway and saw that it was the CB radio in Andy's squad car. Andy gave a groan and ambled over to the car. He listened to the call and opened the driver's door. "Tell Prue I had to go," he said as he slid into the car. "Duty calls." He laughed to himself.

"Yeah. See ya." As Andy drove away, Leo's cell phone rang. He looked at the number and groaned as he opened the phone. "What?"

"Want a job?" Adam asked over the phone.

"No, Adam, it's my day off."

"He's your kid."

"Who?"

"Joey needs a checkup. He stirred up a little bit of trouble downtown and called the station directly. He's asking for you. He's at the First National Band on Third Street. No one's there yet, so hurry up."

"Damn it, Adam—"

"Sorry, Leo. He called here and asked for _you _personally."

Leo groaned, much like Andy had a moment ago. "Fine…I'll be downtown in ten minutes."

"Okay. And hey, take Mi—"

Leo flipped his cell closed, hanging up on Adam. He walked inside and found Piper, Prue, and Phoebe talking to Victor in the living room. Piper looked up, and by the look on Leo's face, she knew something was wrong. She nodded for him to go over to her.

"I uh, got a call from Adam. Joey got himself into some trouble downtown and asked for me to go sort it out."

"How long will it take?" she asked.

"It's Joey. Never know. A couple hours, maybe."

Piper nodded slowly. "Hurry back."

"I will." Leo kissed his wife quickly and left.

* * *

Joey had caused quite a scene, impressive on his standards. He'd tried to rob a bank with a few of his buddies and got caught. He'd asked specifically for Leo, and no other police were in sight. That didn't mean they weren't there, though. On the way over, Adam had radioed in and explained that Joey swore to kill his hostages if any other police showed up before Leo. He knew himself not to underestimate Joey and his abilities, but wasn't worried in the least.

Joey was standing inside the bank, yelling at everybody to lay down and shut up. His three buddies were watching his back. Leo pulled up beside the bank and knocked on the window-like door. Joey whirled around, pointing his gun straight at Leo. Leo showed him that he had a gun, too.

"Come out here, Joey!" Leo yelled to him.

"Fuck you!"

"Joey, leave your friends in there and come out here to talk with me! Just you and me. No one else."

"You've got backup!"

"No! No, Joey, I don't!"

After a long moment of thinking, Joey took a few stiff steps toward the door, keeping his gun pointed at Leo. He opened the door with one hand and came outside as Leo stepped back. They stood ten feet apart. Leo lowered his gun but Joey held still. He didn't dare move.

"Why a bank, Joey? Why can't you just stick to drugs and sluts?"

"Shut up, Wyatt!"

"Joey, just get in the car and I'll take you and your friends back to the station and we can talk about it there. You won't go to jail."

"I'm warning you!"

"Joey, come on! You don't have to go to jail for too long As long as no one's hurt, you—"

"No, Wyatt! This is it! You're here so then everyone else will be, too, and then I'll be locked up."

"No, Joey, you won't. They won't take you in. Only to the station. Then you can go free."

"No! You don't understand! It's over!"

Leo didn't say anything for a few seconds. "…What happened, Joey?" he asked quietly, taking a step forward.

"Man, that's it. They're takin' me in either way!"

"What happened, Joey? Did you shoot somebody?"

"It was an accident! He got in my way!"

"Joey, you gotta let me get an ambulance in there, then. If that man dies—"

"He's already dead!"

Joey was shaking enough for Leo to see. This big, muscular, evil-looking man was shaking like a little kid.

Leo took another step forward, reaching one hand out. Joey stepped back, still holding the gun straight out in front of him. "Joey—"

"No!" Joey fired the gun. He ran off, his three buddies running out of the bank with him.

Leo was on the ground, not sure why. He was on his knees before getting to his feet and caught a glimpse of Joey running around a corner into an alley. A witness from across the street was calling 911.

Fire shot through his left side as if someone were holding a torch to him. He put his hand over his side and found it was bleeding. He staggered to his car and sat in the passenger seat, leaning over to grab the radio, his other hand still on his side.

"This is Car 18 calling in for backup at the First National Bank downtown. There was a robbery, possible murder…"

"Leo, this is Cortez, you okay?"

"No, I need some backup."

"What's wrong?"

"I need an ambulance, Cortez."

"Leo, what happened?"

"It's Joey…I, uh…I think he shot me…"

"We'll be right there, Leo. Hang on, okay?"

Leo nodded and dropped the radio. He stood up on shaky legs and looked back down at the blood, now coming through his shirt and coat. He dropped down to his knees and blacked out.

* * *

**Hmm...Not so much fluff...But that's okay, right? The next chapter has a really cute (well, I think it's really cute) Piper/Leo moment...**

**About that picture...Okay, I had a hilarious drawing for that, but the site wouldn't let me put it up. sry! If you're curious enough to want to know what I'm talking about, let me know, and I'll email you the...picture.**


	8. Fears Come True

**Oh, how cool! I changed the color of that line thingy! Awesome!  
****I tried to login earlier and it wouldn't let me! Weird...Stupid site...I mean happy site! Don't upset the site!**

**Thanks for the reviews! I love '****em!**

**charmedmel32: You'll see if he's okay now. Don't worry. I'm not heartless. (just kidding--I am)**

**Magical Princess: Swept under the rug? My parents...Oh, God, every other word they say has to do with sex. Very open at my mom's house, very open at my dad's. You're right, though...People are very immature. Me and my friends stay up late at night to talk about stuff like that. We can cover everything in one night...Everything from dumb guys to sex to hot dogs (no pun intended).**

**kk241289: Don't assume. You know what assuming does? It makes an_ass_ out of_u_ and _me_. Don't assume! (lol, I love that. My History teacher did that to some kid in our class, too!)**

**anjana: Hey anjana! "...at least he could get a slut." Well then. Yes...at least. But he had to pay her...Joey has no relation to Dan...Dan did something much worse, but you guys can't know about it yet. Not for a while. Think about the worst possible things Dan could ever do to Piper and Leo...Dan is going to be a living hell.**

**Nakita: Next time I'll wait to update, because we don't have any brownies here...Are they good? And yes, I shall remain the Goddess for a while, but even though I can pick and choose, it doesn't mean I can't stay away from fluff for too long...You spelled "thickens" right, by the way. lol. Yes, I was going to punish you and wait. Everybody should be thanking you for threatening me with the brownie. For all I know, it could be poisonous.**

**jenny: lmao? You thought it was funny? Oh, come on! ...Actually...It was kinda funny...There wasn't too much conflict, but Victor does hate Leo. He's gonna have to loosen up, though, because Piper's in for her own little emotional roller coaster ride. He'll have to make an attempt at being nice to Leo, but I love writing fights between then, so hint hint. How do I think of these things? I have a sick, horrible, awesome mind!**

**Chub: Yeah, the last chapter was one of my favorite cliffies...I have a better one, but it's time to be posted isn't for a while. You're guessing Leo is okay, but how okay? I'll just say that he's not gonna get up and chase Joey for a while.  
It was balanced, huh? That's a good thing. I didn't think about that, so that's a plus that I can balance unconsciously, especially because I'm not physically balanced. My name is not Grace.**

**piperleo4eva: You're the second person to actually call me talented! Wow! Is that sad, or good? Now as for genius...I get that a lot. lol. Good question: how can you stop me from oh, say...killing Leo?**

**patricia: I know, I'm evil...But it's soooooo good!**

**scullymulder1234: I know, this is moving along really quickly...I still have a few more chapters already written, and that's why it's going so quick. Once I hit Chapter 11, I think I have to start actually writing it again...Enjoy it while it lasts!**

**charmedangel429: Wow, you're spunky.**

**meenyrocks: And you're hyper!**

* * *

When Piper got to the hospital, Adam, Cortez, Ron, Jake, Tom, Rick, and Emily were already in the waiting room. Piper rushed up to them.

"Where is he? How is he?" she demanded.

"He's fine. Actually, Emily and I were about to leave. We were waiting for you," Rick said.

Piper sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "So he's not dead?" she asked.

Adam chuckled. "No, he's not dead. He's right down the hall. But the doctor is in there, so they kicked us out. Won't let us in."

"Ha, we'll see." Piper ran up to the desk. "My husband was shot. What room is he in?" she asked the nurse.

The nurse behind the desk was on the phone. She held up her pointer finger at Piper, telling her to hold on, but didn't look up at her.

"I _will_ _not_ hold on! My husband was shot and right now you have to tell me where he is!"

"Ma'am, I'm sorry, but you'll have to wait for a moment," the slightly irritated nurse said to Piper before going back to the phone.

Piper grabbed the phone from the nurse and held it out of her reach. "Tell me where he is," she demanded.

"Your husband is in room 215, but he is with a doctor at the moment. You'll have to wait out here--"

"Thanks." Piper handed the phone to the nurse and wandered down the hall.

"Ma'am! Ma'am, you can't go back there--"

* * *

"So ten years on the force and this is your first shooting?"

"No…It's just the first time the bullet hit me." A shirtless Leo shifted a little and managed a little laugh. "My dog took the last one for me…"

"Well you're lucky this time, too."

Piper rushed in. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

"Piper, what are you doing here?"

"Jake called me."

Leo groaned.

"How is he?" Piper asked the doctor.

"He'll live." The doctor sitting on the stool was bandaging Leo's left side. He finished and sat up straight. "The bullet hit the inside of his chest wall and grazed his left lung. Less than an inch to the right, and it could have punctured his lung."

"But you're not admitting him?"

"I've found no reason to. He can go home today. He just has to take a week or two from work."

"Two, then."

The doctor stood up. "I'll be back in a few minutes," he said as he left the room, giving Piper and Leo some privacy.

"Where was Mike?" Piper asked as soon as the door closed.

"He wasn't there."

"Leo, they gave you a partner to _prevent_ this from happening!" Piper exclaimed breathlessly, throwing her arms to her sides.

Leo grabbed Piper's wrists and held her hands down, saying, "Piper. Piper! It's okay. We're not going to my _funeral_ or anything."

"But Leo, you don't understand! It _could_ have been your funeral if you were barely standing to the left. You wouldn't _be_ _here_ right now, or you could be in a coma or--or--"

"Piper…" Leo reached over and took her hand in his. "Please, calm down…Where's your dad?" he asked suddenly.

"At home with Phoebe and Prue. Jake called and said you got shot, and I was out the door before anyone could question me…" Piper shook her head furiously. "Leo, you _can't_ keep doing this. They gave you a freaking _partner_ so that things like this would _not_ happen. Do you realize what would have happened if you were standing less than an _inch_ to one side?…You don't realize how much people need you. You can't keep risking your life, going into places at two in the morning to do check-ups on people like--like Joey. That bullet had your name on it. One of these days, Leo, it's gonna get you…" Tears were already forming in Piper's eyes.

"Piper, Sweetie, look, I love you, but after _ten years_, you couldn't have imagined that nothing would happen."

"No, I--I…I didn't think that--" Piper stopped denying it and quieted.

Leo's features softened. He held his arms out and Piper crawled into them, lying on the hospital bed beside him. She lay on her side, her chest on his. He buried his face in her hair. "I love you," he said quietly, his voice a soft rumble in his chest.

Piper relaxed in his arms. "I love you, too," she replied. "You don't know how much I love you."

"I'm sorry that I scared you," he apologized.

"Don't let it happen again…" Piper warned.

"I won't," he promised.

Piper nodded. "I know…" She looked up as her hand ran over Leo's bare right shoulder. She hesitated over a slanted two-inch scar just under his shoulder. Her eyes darted from that to another exposed scar on the left side of his stomach. She sighed deeply. "But that's what you said last time," she said quietly.

Leo had nothing to say to that. She was right. He brought her closed fist to his lips and kissed it.

* * *

"Hey, oh my God, are you okay? What happened?"

"Okay--Just walked in the door," Leo said sarcastically. He hung up his coat.

"Sorry," Prue apologized. "But Piper took off outta here so fast we thought you were dead."

"Ha. Funny. Me, dead."

"Nope, not yet," Piper said, hanging her coat up as well.

"What happened?"

"I got shot," Leo replied, heading for the living room.

Phoebe and Prue stared at their sister. Piper was standing against the door, watching Leo go.

"Is he okay?" Phoebe asked.

"Yeah, he's okay," Piper said quietly. "…Where's Andy?" she asked Prue.

"Working, I assume. He left right before Leo, I guess."

"Oh. Where's Dad?"

"In the living room."

Piper rushed into the living room with her sisters at her heels. Leo was collapsed on the couch, and Victor was just coming into the living room from the kitchen. He saw Leo on the couch.

"What happened to you?" Victor asked.

"He got shot," Piper answered for Leo.

Victor's gaze fell on Leo. "What?"

Leo gestured into the air vaguely. "Not _really_…It was a graze…"

"It hit your lung," Piper reasoned.

"_Scraped_."

"Leo…"

Leo closed his eyes and stretched out on the couch. Piper sighed. Victor pulled her into the kitchen.

"What happened?"

"It's not huge," Piper said, trying to convince herself more than her dad. "He just needs to take a couple of weeks off work, is all. He's okay."

"He needs to be more careful."

"You aren't a cop, Dad. You don't know what you're talking about. He _has_ been careful, but things happen."

"That's not how you feel. I know that."

Piper sighed. "…You're right, but…"

"He swore to you the last time--"

"Don't, Dad…Just don't. It's not worth it. I know what he promised me then, and I know what he promised now. But none of that matters. Stop being so protective of me. Leo's been taking care of me _and_ working on the force for ten years. And now he's shot again. Go on, say it. Say, 'I told you so.'"

Victor didn't say anything.

"Then just drop it, Dad. It's never going to end if you don't just _drop it_. Leo's shot--he's hurt. He's _all right_. It's over, okay? Stop it, _please_." Piper fixed her dad with a pleading expression. He still didn't say anything.

* * *

The next day, Piper allowed Leo to go to the station, only to get his stuff and rearrange his schedule. He walked into the station, his trench coat open, revealing him to be naked from the waist of, also revealing the bandage on his side. He let the door close behind him and headed straight for his office. Along the way, people shouted their congrats and their jealousy at his two weeks off from work.

Leo closed the office door behind him and sat on the desk, facing the door. The blinds were down, as always. He went to grab the phone off of his desk and winced. He dropped the coat off of his shoulders and arms and onto the desk and rolled his right shoulder. It had been sore that morning, and now it was worse.

He put his hand over his shoulder and over the scar and rubbed it. He rolled it again and rubbed it with the palm of his hand. Damn, it hurt.

The door opened. Leo looked up and groaned. Mike came inside the office, closing the door behind him and standing in front of it.

"What do you want?" Leo growled.

"I want to know what I'm gonna do for a week."

"You're gonna do grunt work, is what." Leo jumped off of the desk. "Ask Adam, he'll give you some jobs."

"What happened?" Mike asked, noticing the scar.

"Nothing."

"Looks like a bullet wound."

Leo put his coat on. He grabbed a manila folder off of his desk and headed for the door. Mike stepped out of his way and watched him go up to Amy at the desk. He crossed his arms on the desk. Amy looked up at him slowly.

"What?"

"I need a schedule rearranged. I've got a week's paid vacation, and it doesn't even take up my vacation days."

"Bastard. Maybe they'll shoot me and give _me_ a week off next time…"

Leo only smiled.

As soon as Leo was gone, Mike approached Cortez.

"Hey."

"Hey, Kid. How's Leo treatin' ya?"

"Uh…That's actually what I'm here to ask about…Leo, that is."

"Ah, don't let ole' Wyatt get to ya. He's kinda picky about who his friends are. I was on his blacklist for a long time, too."

"What I wanna know about is, uh, a scar? Under his shoulder?"

Cortez looked at Mike. "What about it?"

"I asked him about it and he ignored me. It…It's a bullet wound, right?"

"Um…Yeah," Cortez sighed.

"From what?"

"From a long time ago. We don't talk about it."

"Could it have anything to do with his overprotectiveness of his wife?"

"No, and 'overprotectivness' isn't a word."

"Whatever."

"Look, all I'll say is that Leo…and Piper have gone through some things that nobody should ever go through, and they've come out on top every time. Their past is their past," Cortez said.

"Right, and I understand that, but I'm curious to know what happened."

"He…He was in the wrong place at the wrong time…That's all…"

"Right…"

"Okay, he was out late. Real late. It was about three in the morning, and he broke up a simple quarrel downtown. Turned out that the quarrel was more than he'd thought…They pulled guns on him. He took them both down, but he got shot in the process. Um…He made a call into here for help just before he passed out…No charges were pressed against him…There was no double murder trial."

Mike was quiet.

* * *

As soon as Leo walked in the door, Piper was there. She looked relieved.

"What?" he asked.

"I just got off the phone with Amy. She said your father and uncle just brought Joey in. They're charging him with murder, theft, and attempted murder of a police officer. They got him about twenty minutes ago."

"Where was he?"

"At his club."

"Stupid bastard. I thought even _he_ would be smarter than that…"

Piper smiled a little. "He went down kicking…but they got him."

"Good."

"You'll have to go in and make a statement, and you'll have to be a witness at the trial, but that's not for a while."

"When do they want my statement?"

"As soon as you can, but--"

Leo nodded. "I'll go now. Get it over with."

"No." Piper shook her head. "If they want a statement, then they can wait until you're well enough."

"Piper, I'm well enough to give a statement. It'll only take a couple of hours, maybe less."

"I don't care, Leo. You aren't working for two weeks. You aren't giving them a statement for two weeks."

"They have to take it early when it's still easy to remember."

"Trust me, Leo, you won't be forgetting any of it." Piper gave Leo a look that said, "And that's that."

He knew it wasn't worth arguing over. They didn't need to fight right now.

* * *

A few things:  
"overprotectiveness" really _isn't_ a word. I made it up!  
I'm pretty sure Leo could get forced to make a statement by law, but this is my story, so screw that.  
I was gonna end this chapter sooner, but I decided to go on...I was also going to go into Joey's arrest, but I just couldn't envision it all...

Review on, people, and I will update soon!


	9. Confronting Piper

**Sup? All right, I really don't have much to say, but...Yeah...Okay...R&R!**

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* * *

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**Magical Princess: Sure, for now.**

**kk241289: Again, thank you! You're right, though, that was only a little taste of what happened to them. That was nothing--and I mean NOTHING--compared to what happened...You'll see. Never heard the assume thing, huh? Well now you can use it on people!**

**scullymulder1234:1--That bug thing got cleared up, ya know? You'll find out what happens soon enough. Oh, and what dots?**

**charmedangel429: Omg, did I forget respond to your review from Chapter 7? Sorry if I did...My head's off...Anyway, thanks for the Chapter 7 review! Um...Yeah...Sorry if I'm confusing you...**

**jenNy: Hmm...Cherries and sugar and a spoon, eh? Tempting...Victor and Leo will get in a fight, 'cause Victor hates Leo, and then Leo went and got himself shot. Dan...I won't say anything about him. I'll leave you to guess. Torture, I know, but at least I'm having fun with it! Muahahahaha!**

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Scarry Talk**

Leo was asleep in bed when Piper came inside with Yukon. He could hear them coming inside and woke up slowly. It was his third day off work, and Piper was sure he got plenty of sleep from it, not that he was complaining himself.

"Hi," Piper said quietly as she came into their bedroom.

"You're angry with me," Leo guessed from her tone. He sat up.

"What? No…" Piper came and sat down on the bed next to her husband. "I'm just tired…Sore…"

"You, too?"

"It hurts?"

"Uh, yeah," Leo said, somewhat sarcastically. "My shoulder, more, though."

"Did you pull it?"

"No…I dunno… What about you? Come, complain with me."

Piper smiled. "I'm sore all over…" Her smile changed a little to a somewhat embarrassed one. "I uh…fell…at work today…" she said through her smile.

He tried not to laugh, but it wasn't working. "Piper…"

"I know, I know! I tripped over some boxes…Hurt my neck and shoulder…"

"Where, right…"—Leo put his hand on Piper's shoulder—"…here?"

"Yeah…" Piper closed her eyes and leaned her head forward as Leo maneuvered to sit behind her to massage her shoulders and neck. "Mmm hmm…"

Leo reached down to take the bottom of Piper's shirt. He pulled it up over her head and tossed it aside. She lay down on the bed on her stomach as he massaged her shoulders and sides. He ran his hands up her back and unclasped her bra to move it aside, as he also moved to straddle her back with his knees. He massaged her back and she told him where to go.

"Mmm…Lower…No, up, up, up…Little lighter…" He ran his fingertips along her sides and back and she shivered. "Mmm…"

"Shh."

"Sor_ry_," Piper said sarcastically.

"Hush. This should be vice versa, you know…"

"Hush."

Leo withdrew his hands from Piper's back.

"I mean…I love you?" Piper tried.

Leo smiled.

* * *

Two days later, Leo went back to the station to see what was happening. He couldn't stay away for too long, and since Piper was working at the restaurant, she wouldn't be able to get angry with him for going. He found Ron, Jake, Kevin, Josh, Adam, and Cortez sitting in the lounge with Jamie. 

"You're all fucking perverts, you know that?" Jamie laughed. "Perverts."

"Ooh. Ouch! God, a shot at my heart! It _hurt_, Jamie. That one _hurt_," Cortez said sarcastically, clutching his heart dramatically.

"Well, I'm allowed to be a pervert. I'm not married," Josh said.

"No, _I'm_ allowed to be a perv. You can be a perverted freak once you _are_ married. 'Cause then you've got someone to live out the perverted thoughts with," Ron said.

"Yeah, and it got you a kid."

"See? Kill two birds with one stone. I'm satisfied, and Marie's on maternity leave for another six weeks." Ron laughed to himself.

"There are so many other ways I could word that, but…" Jamie trailed off.

They laughed as Leo walked into the lounge. He took one look at the people in the room and knew what was going on. "Oh, no, you guys are sharing all of your sleazy sex stories again, huh?"

"Yeah, it's not the same without you."

"Ah, well, that's only because you're all jealous of me," Leo said as he walked over to the counter and grabbed a mug from a rack and rinsed it in a sink.

"Jealous? Why?" Josh asked.

Leo filled the mug with coffee. He looked at Josh. "Because my sleazy sex stories top yours by far."

Everyone but the Wyatt brothers laughed. Jake and Ron hid their faces in their hands. Leo had a look of genuine confusion, as if no one believed him.

"I doubt that, Leo. I've been around the block more than once," Jamie challenged.

"Yeah. I'm married, too, Wy," Adam added.

"Yeah, well…" Leo took a sip of coffee. He walked up to the circle table the others were sitting at. "That may be," he said quietly, leaning down. "But uh…Still, mine top yours."

"Doubt it," Jamie scoffed.

"Do you now?"

Jamie nodded. Leo leaned over and whispered something in her ear, and she put a hand over her mouth to keep herself from laughing. When he was finished, he stood up straight and left the room.

Seconds later, after Jamie relayed the story to the others in the lounge, the entire room erupted with laughter.

"Oh! Bad image, Leo! Bad image!" Josh yelled after him as the lounge door swung closed.

* * *

The next day was Saturday, and Piper had left the restaurant to her sisters to care for. At about five o'clock in the afternoon, when Leo had gone to take Yukon to the local dog park, Piper looked up to a knock at the door. She left the kitchen, where she'd been making dinner, and opened the front door. Her face immediately turned to shock. "Um…Mike, right?…What…?" 

"I just came to ask a few questions…I figured I wouldn't get another chance to talk to you, so…" Mike said, glancing around to be sure Leo wasn't home.

"Yeah, yeah. Uh, come in. Leo's out, by the way, so it's fine to talk." Piper opened the door a little wider and let Mike in, closing it behind him. She led him into the living room. "Please, sit."

Mike sat down on the couch and Piper sat on the chair. "This is a beautiful house. How long have you lived here?" he commented.

"Thank you, um…We've been here since…just after we started college, but it was actually an inheritance from Leo's aunt. We were lucky to get it, really, because his aunt didn't like me that well." Piper smiled.

"I just um…had a few questions about Leo…"

"Yeah. I know he probably isn't being the friendliest person in the world…"

"No…Actually, I'm just curious about the scar from a gunshot wound on his shoulder…I asked Cortez about it—"

"Yeah uh…Cortez probably gave you a summary about it…"

Mike nodded. "Yeah."

Piper nodded to herself, thinking back and forcing herself to relive the memory. "Well um…" She gulped. "It all happened kinda fast…I mean, Leo went out really late and got into trouble. It was bound to happen…" She shook her head. "But um, these two guys pulled guns on him and he defended himself. One of them shot him in the shoulder and then he was shot again. If he had followed protocol and called in for backup earlier, then things would have worked out…better."

"Better?"

"Yeah. He, um…It took him so long to call in, that after he did, he passed out. He nearly died from the blood loss…Actually, he, um…His heart stopped on the operating table, but the doctor's were able to get it, thank God…" Piper paused a moment to compose herself. "He was in surgery for, like…four and a half hours. I was frantic…Everyone was. I'm not sure how we even got through it…Leo was in the hospital for a week and a half and took three extra weeks off of work. He got put back on light jobs, but took back the dirty work…I guess it's some sort of thrill for him…" She shook her head again. "Anyway, it was like an emotional turning point for him. I think the reality of death hit him, and he realized he was mortal…" A smile graced her face. "That's a good thing…"

"How long ago was that?"

"Five years…It was a year after Yukon took that bullet for him. He was more serious since he got shot, though…He took certain things less lightly, and was more careful on the job. He still is, even if it doesn't show it…" After a sigh, she added, "Leo's not good at showing emotion all too well around some people…"

Mike laughed out loud. "Like me?"

"He'll get to know you. You'll see."

"That's what everyone says, but I dunno…"

"Ah, he will…Believe it or not, Leo's an emotional man. He just only shows emotion around…his family, really, and it's a difficult task to get to a point where you're considered family…It's a process to get his trust. Like a game, almost…"

"So, I'm on…what, Level…Negative Fifteen?"

Piper laughed. "Negative Thirteen is more like it…" She was silent for a second. "Leo doesn't like getting shot," she said quietly, somewhat distantly.

"Oh? I had a totally different impression."

Piper smiled. "Okay, he doesn't mind showing off a scar or two, but he…he doesn't brag about that stuff around me. I think I bring him back down to earth on certain issues…That's a good thing…"

"Yeah, well…I think I'd better go…" Mike started to stand up.

"Um…Yeah. Leo should be back soon, and…" Piper trailed off. "…I'll uh, lead you out."

As Piper stood up to walk toward the door, her tank top rose slightly, showing a little bit of her stomach. Mike's eye caught a large scar on her side, just above the line of her jeans. There was the end of another scar crossing over it slightly, but it continued on below her jean line. He noted the scars, but said nothing.

* * *

The next day, Leo wasn't allowed out of the house. That was established when he woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, panting, out of breath, and on the verge of tears. 

His dreams were killing him.

He slept through most of the day, getting much-needed rest, but staying unable to retain it because the dreams he was having were so vivid and real. He didn't tell Piper what he was reliving, he didn't tell her anything other than "I'm fine."

Piper watched her husband from the doorway. He was sleeping peacefully, it seemed, but she had no idea of what was going on in his head…

"No, Leo, I can't go in there—" Piper said, shaking her head. Tears were already slowly making paths down her cheeks.

"It'll only take a moment, Piper. I swear, it'll be over soon. He can't see you, remember?" Leo reminded her, moving his hands to her waist to hold her to him. "All you have to do is identify him."

"Leo…" Piper sobbed.

Leo held her close and walked her up to the one-way glass. Inside the room they were looking into, there was a police officer, but other than that, it was empty. A prosecuting lawyer, defending lawyer, and Adam were standing with Piper and Leo, waiting.

"Okay, all you have to do is tell us what number is on his shirt if you see him," Adam explained, even though Piper knew the procedure.

She barely nodded, and a sob escaped her lips. Leo wrapped his arms around her from behind. She grabbed his hand tightly.

Adam pressed a button to the right of the glass. "Bring out the first group," he said into the speaker.

The officer inside the room nodded and opened a door. Five men came outside, all of them looking menacing, and all of them wearing numbers on their shirts, numbered 1-5.

Piper shook her head, feeling Leo give her hand a reassuring squeeze. She took a slow, deep breath. "No, he's not in there."

"Bring out the second group," Adam said into the speaker.

The officer nodded. The men from the first group left through a door on the other side of the room, and another group came in.

Piper's breath caught in her throat. Her entire body started trembling, and a fresh set of tears rolled from her eyes. She squeezed Leo's hand so tight that her own hand started to hurt.

She nodded a little, her eyes locked on the man wearing the number 7. She knew he couldn't see her, but he knew she was back there. "That's him…" she muttered, tears choking her voice. "Number seven."

"Thank you, Piper," Adam said quietly.

Leo put his arms around his wife and walked her out of the room. He could feel her shaking still, and had her lean on him in an effort to calm her nerves.

"So much for lucky number seven," the prosecutor said to the defense lawyer. "Book him."

Leo woke with a start, sitting up quickly. He took in a quick breath, and opened his eyes to see Piper at his side. Her hand took his and she used her other to stroke his face and hair.

"It's okay," she whispered. "What happened?"

"Nothing," Leo said, trying to forget the dream.

Her face set so that she almost looked angry. "It's not nothing, I know that."

Leo shook his head. It's fine, Piper…"

"No it's not. Don't lie to me, _please_."

He looked into her eyes and put one hand on her upper arm. "I'm fine."

Piper wasn't convinced. She lay down beside Leo and curled up against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her and she closed her eyes.

Leo was back asleep in no time, but Piper stayed away and watched him, making sure he was okay. She knew what he was dreaming about—she always had. Though he never clarified exactly _what_ he was remembering. Piper guessed it was because he didn't want to upset or hurt her. She tried to press him, but he always dropped the issue.

She wasn't afraid of being hurt from remembering. It was the past. She couldn't change it, and she couldn't run from it. She knew she could take the hurt if it would help Leo. She hated seeing him this way…

* * *

**So there's another little portion of what happened to them... (From Leo's dream, remember?)**

**Just so you all know, Leo getting shot five years ago has nothing to do with the other thing that happened to them.**

**Here's a little hint: Remember how I made Dan out to be the bad guy in Home Sweet Home? Think about it...Have I used Dan yet? I have Dan in like all of my stories...HINT HINT, PEOPLE! HINT HINT!**


	10. Party at the Haven

**Chapter 10 - Hell's Haven…Again!**

Three days later, Piper found herself watching her husband again. Leo was asleep when she sat down on their bed beside him. Yukon was awake at the foot of the bed. He stared at Piper and growled softly. She smiled at him, but her smile faded when her eyes fell on Leo. Her hand reached out to touch his face, peaceful with morphine-induced sleep for the shot to his side. The phone rang and she looked to the bedroom door before getting up to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Piper. Leo there?" Adam asked.

She was almost immediately upset. "No, you guys are not pulling him back into the station again. He's home, and he's sleeping. No more. Not until next week. He's too tired."

"…Okay…Can you come pick this stuff up for him, then?"

"What stuff?"

"Just a few papers that Leo asked for."

"Are you lying to me, Adam, or did Leo really ask for them?"

"He asked, I swear. It's just some files on the shooting, that's all. He wanted to read the reports, honest."

Piper sighed. She glanced into the open bedroom door. Leo was still sleeping. "Fine. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

* * *

Mike opened the door to Leo's office and was surprised to see Piper there, shuffling through papers on Leo's desk. She looked up, startled.

"Oh, sorry…Piper. I…didn't know you were here," Mike said, for some reason somewhat hesitant to say her name.

"Yeah, Adam called and I…Damn it…I have to find a few papers for Leo. Adam was lazy and didn't get them ready for me, and he's on patrol right now…"

Piper stood up straight and raked her hands through her hair. Her shirt lifted slightly and Mike was allowed a glance at the slashes on her left hip. He also noticed a long scar near her belly button.

He shook his head. "Which papers?"

"The report on the shooting, I guess Leo wanted to read them, or—"

"Yeah, Amy has them."

Piper laughed. "I should have looked there first. Thanks."

* * *

A week passed, and Piper allowed Leo to return to work. There was a "gathering" at Hell's Haven just for the occasion.

"So, why are—"

"We have a party for everything," Cortez was telling Mike as they walked into the bar. Most everyone was already there, and Cortez made a beeline for the bar. Mike watched him nod a hello to Piper and Leo at a table, then go up to a smiling woman with dark blonde hair. He noticed a ring on her finger, and remembered Adam had recently explained that Cortez was recently engaged.

An hour later, an old love song was playing, and most of the couples were dancing. Piper and Leo were together also, but in a more secluded spot, where Leo was leaning against a wall and Piper was swaying against him. She closed her eyes and smiled as she moved. Her arms were crossed near her waist, her hands locking with Leo's. He stood against her from behind, her back against his chest, and pulled her crossed arms up near her chest. Her eyes were still closed. She kept swaying, humming occasionally, when he leaned in and kissed the right side of her neck. She leaned her head back.

Mike watched from the other side of the room. They weren't the only couple teasing each other. Adam and his wife had retired to a corner, and Cortez and his fiancé marked the end of the bar as their territory, as well.

Still, of all the couples touching and teasing and making out, Piper and Leo were perhaps the most intimate. By now, they were both swaying together, and he was still kissing her neck. She leaned back more and he gave her a slanted kiss before moving down her neck and shoulder. Piper smiled, closed her eyes, and leaned back into him.

Mike spotted the scars on her stomach once more when the end of her shirt lifted when her arms raised. There were five scars. They were light, barely visible from across the room, but they were there. Two were barely crossed over each other. One of them was slanted toward her jeans, the other slanting below her jeans in the other direction. Above that was another slash. Beside that was a horizontal scar, with a slanted one crossing over it. They looked like random cuts from a large knife.

Abuse, maybe?

Mike took another look at the couple.

No way. They were too close. _Besides,_ Mike reasoned, _abuse leaves mental scars. Fear. She's not afraid at all._

Later that night, when Adam and his wife were at the bar talking to Jamie and her latest boyfriend, Mike approached them, curious about those scars. When he brought it up, they all went quiet, and Mike knew he had mentioned a memory that no one wanted to remember.

It was Adam's wife who spoke first when Mike asked about it. "It…Um…It's from a long time ago."

Mike nodded. "Yeah, so are a lot of things between them that are hidden from me. What am I missing? I mean, I don't mean to be rude, I'm just curious. I know he doesn't like me, but we _are_ partners."

No response, from anyone.

"What, did he abuse her or something?"

Jamie laughed. "Oh, God no. Leo and Piper…They're so close, a sheet of paper would have some _serious_ trouble squeezing between them."

"That's true," Adam agreed. "I've known them since…forever. Leo would never hit Piper. He would _never_ hurt her. The scars are from…I can't truly tell you the story, because it's not mine to tell. But I can tell you that…that some horrible things happened to them, and even though their demons are in the past, they've left some permanent scars."

"Too vague," Mike said.

"I'm sorry. Ask Leo."

"Right…" Mike nodded a little, but he was seriously confused.

Ron came up to them. "Hey, I'm headin' home. I can't find Piper and Leo, so if you see them, can you let them know?" His words were mainly directed to Adam, who nodded in agreement.

"Sure. And tell the wife I said hi."

"Will do, see ya." Ron made his way through the crowd to the door. On the way, he ran into his younger brother. "Hey, I just told Adam to let you know I'm leaving, okay?" he told Leo.

The middle Wyatt brother was entranced by his wife, who was finishing a dance with Cortez. He dipped her as a finishing move and she laughed, then they parted so that she could find Leo and he could find his fiancé.

"Hey, Ron, you headin' out?" Piper asked as she took her place beside Leo, sure to give him a solid kiss to be sure he felt no jealousy about her dancing with Cortez. He offered her a smile, and she smiled back.

"Yeah, I know it's early, but Marie's home with the baby and I think it's my turn to change the diapers," Ron said.

Leo finally acknowledged his brother's presence. "All right then. I'll have to come by and see Lauren sometime."

Ron nodded. "Yeah, you haven't seen her yet, have you? She's getting big, too. Almost a month old." His voice sounded distant, admiring.

"I think getting shot is a good excuse, right?"

"Right, and Piper boarding up the door so you couldn't get out, anyway…"

"What?" Piper protested. "I never…"

"Oh, you're right, you didn't board up the doors. You just stood there with a shotgun," Leo teased.

"Hush. Ron, you're a bad influence on my husband."

"Ah, no, we figured it out," Leo said.

"Figured what out?"

"Okay, try to follow us here."

Piper nodded. "No promises."

Ron smiled sarcastically. He pointed at himself. "I'm a bad influence, but in a good way."

Piper nodded again. "I coulda told you that."

"I'm a good influence, but in a bad way," Leo said.

"And Jake?" Piper asked.

"Jake? He's just an influence. However you take it is up to you."

Piper laughed and pushed her brother-in-law's shoulder. "Go home, Ron. You need a ride?"

"No, I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. I had two beers, that's all."

"All right. See you later."

Ron left as Jake and Alyssa came up. "Where's Ron goin'?" Jake asked.

"Home."

"So Alyssa, you're not scared away yet?" Piper asked.

"Not yet," Alyssa laughed.

Piper looked up at Leo. He could feel her eyes on him and looked down at her. "What?" he asked quietly.

Piper motioned over her shoulder with her head. Leo got the hint, simple enough. He nodded for his brother to follow him. Jake rolled his eyes and gave a groan. He pulled Alyssa to him and kissed her, then followed Leo away. Piper motioned for Alyssa to take a seat beside her at the bar.

"You want a beer?" Piper asked.

"Uh, sure, I'm out." Alyssa swung her beer bottle by the neck. She set it on the bar counter.

Piper got them both drinks. She took a swig of beer. "So you and Jake…"

Alyssa nodded loosely. "Yeah, me and Jake…" She smiled.

"You two seem to be getting close…"

The younger woman laughed to herself. "Oh, oh, I get it…You and Leo play the parents, don't you? You watch out for Jake, huh?"

"Yeah, he's our little brother—Well, he's Leo's little brother, and he's my…little brother-in-law." Piper smiled.

"I see. So, what, you're making sure I'm…valid?"

"Um…Sure, something like that. We just want to watch out for Jacob. He's twenty-five. He's young, and, well, he's stupid." Piper and Alyssa both laughed. "I mean, me and Leo, we've done this five times now with Jake. He knows the drill."

Alyssa nodded, understanding totally. "I have two younger brothers, I do the same for them."

"So how long have you guys been dating again?" Piper asked.

"Um…A month, now…"

"A month? You guys must be pretty close then…" Piper said, staring at her beer bottle on the counter.

"Yes, we've slept together, if that's what you mean," Alyssa said.

"Yes, that's what I mean, actually," Piper said, nodding, but still staring at the bottle. She laughed and Alyssa joined her. Piper looked up. "You love him?"

"Uh…You know, I haven't thought about it."

With a nod, Piper commented, "I didn't either…"

"So I'm really not sure," Alyssa said.

"I wasn't either…" Piper shook her head slowly. "You'll know when the time comes. Just…be good to Jake, huh?"

"Always. He deserves it."

"I'm glad you see that already. He's a good guy, we just like to tease him 'cause he's the youngest. My older sister and I treat our youngest sister the same."

* * *

Leo and Jake were outside the bar and following a wide sidewalk surrounding the building. "You're giving me a lecture," Jake started.

"Yes, actually, I am."

"Save it."

"Okay, I won't lecture you. Can I just talk to you?"

Jake raised his beer bottle. "Yeah, sure. Talk."

"Hmm…" Leo nodded a little to himself. He took a swig of beer. "So you and Alyssa are getting along well, I see."

"Yeah, look, are you about to give me the 'Birds and the Bees' talk?"

Leo chuckled. "No…I think Dad already covered that."

"In the third grade."

"Good, so I don't have to go over anything…"

Jake sighed. "Leo…"

"Okay, okay…" They walked in silence for a few seconds. "So did you take her to your place, or—"

"No, no…She was nervous and felt a lot safer at her place…"

"Ooh, smart."

"See? Listening to you every morning at the station is still paying off."

"Hasn't it always?"

* * *

Some time later, Jake and Leo came back inside and joined Piper and Alyssa, who were both finishing their second beers.

"Jeez, what'd you guys do in here?"

"Oh, nothing…" Piper looked at Alyssa and they burst out laughing.

"Okay, what're we missing?" Leo asked them.

"Nothing…" Piper glanced and Alyssa again and suppressed a giggle. She glanced around the bar. "Oh, look, the Exit door…" she said, standing up and walking down the door. As she went, she grabbed Leo's arm and pulled him along with her. They walked outside, leaving Jake and Alyssa alone.

Piper clung to Leo's arm and leaned on him as they walked the same sidewalk path Leo and Jake had walked moments before. Piper sighed.

"Tired?" Leo asked, bringing his arm up and around Piper's shoulder.

"Mmm hmm…"

"You ready to go home, then?"

"Yeah, I think so…" Piper nodded.

"Okay, you go get the car, I'll be right there, okay?" Leo said, leaning over to kiss Piper's cheek. She smiled and headed for the parking lot as Leo went back inside. He found Adam working the bar. "Hey."

"Hey. Want another drink?" Adam asked him.

"No. Actually, me and Piper are gonna leave. We're both tired."

"All right. It was your party."

"And it was a hell of a party, too. Thanks, Adam."

"Anytime, Man."

* * *

Piper really was tired. She fell asleep during the fifteen-minute ride home. Leo pulled into the driveway and shut the car off. He got out and shut his door, walking around to the other side of the car. He opened Piper's door and pulled her out, scooping her up in his arms. He carried her into the house, opening the door as quietly as possible.

Yukon came running up, barking and howling at them. Leo hushed him quickly and the dog immediately obeyed. "Go lay down," Leo ordered quietly. Yukon wandered off in a huff.

Leo brought Piper into their bedroom and laid her down on the bed. She was still sleeping, peaceful and satisfied with her night. He sat down beside her and watched her sleep for a few moments. He reached up and brushed some stray hair from her face.

His hand trailed down to her stomach. Her shirt had been pulled up an inch or so and he could see the scars on her flat stomach. His fingers hesitated above them. His eyes shot back up to hers. She was still sleeping.

"Oh, Piper, what am I gonna do with you?" he whispered.


	11. The Fight

**Chapter 11 - The Fight**

Piper stepped into the garage and stood with her head cocked to one side, hands on her hips. A small smile was on her face as she looked at her husband, who had beer, a tank of acetylene with a hose, a lighter, and balloons, not to mention coffee cans and lighter fluid. Jake and Ron were also in the garage, listening to Leo speak. He was standing in the middle of the floor, everything else pushed aside.

"Okay, what I'm thinking we could do is mix the acetylene with the propane and leave a little oxygen in. Then—"

"What are you boys doing?"

The brothers looked up. "We're blowing up the garage," Jake answered simply.

"No, we're not going to blow up the garage," Leo said. "The balloon is too small," he stated matter-of-factly.

"Didn't you guys hear about the man who filled a punching bag balloon with acetylene in his garage?"

The three men looked at each other, shrugged, and looked back at Piper.

"He put it in his car to take it to a party, the static electricity set it off, and the walls of his garage caved in from the explosion."

"We don't have any punching bag balloons, though," Ron said.

"Yeah, they wouldn't let me get any," Leo said.

"Well, that's probably for the best. I happen to like this garage," Piper replied. "So only half-full balloons, okay?"

The brothers sighed in unison and said together, "Whatever, _Mom_."

Piper smiled. Leo was as close to his brothers as she was to her sisters. "Just be careful, and don't upset the neighbors too much, okay?"

"I don't like our neighbors, anyway."

Piper walked past Leo and to the back of the garage. The door was up and the alley was dark and empty. That was good. The Wyatt brothers had interesting habits and curiosities with bombs. She knew they would experiment and blow the balloons up too much, then get drunk and blast music from the garage. Then they would come in and share their bomb stories with her. Then Ron would call Marie, who would pick him and Jake up and take them home.

Piper's back was to the brothers, and Leo gave them a devious smile. He stepped closer to his wife, the handle of the acetylene hose in one hand, a lighter in the other. He took another step. "So…Only things like…this?" He held the lighter flame in front of the hose and turned the nozzle. A flame shot out of the hose.

Piper heard the whoosh of the flame and saw it in the corner of her eye. She was scared by it enough to scream and jump around to face Leo. She slapped his arm with a frown. "I'm going inside."

"Leave the fire to us, then," Leo suggested.

"Good idea." Piper kissed him once and started for the house.

"Don't worry, Piper! We've got friends in the fire department!" Ron called.

"And if someone calls the cops—Hey! We're already here!" Leo added.

Piper didn't even turn around. She just smiled and shook her head as she went in the back door to the house. A minute later, she heard a boom and three men yell in triumph. Yukon groaned as dogs do: he was trying to sleep.

"Shh, Yukon, go back to bed. The kids are just playing."

* * *

A week later, after Leo took well to being back to work—he really seemed to love being back—Piper went on a routine trip to the grocery store. Usually she dragged Leo along with her, mostly for her enjoyment more than his, but this time she was flying solo. With bags hanging from her hands and arms, she banged on the front door with her foot, begging Leo to hurry up and open the door. It was Saturday and he shouldn't have been at work…She kicked the door again.

Finally, Leo opened the door. He was on the phone. "Uh huh—Look, I gotta go. My wife just got back from the grocery store, and…Yeah. Okay, bye." Leo hung up the cordless house phone and tossed it onto the kitchen island so that he could grab some of the bags Piper had. "Damn, Piper. Got enough food here to feed a third world country. You _do_ know it's just the two of us and Yukon, right? Or have you been hiding some people from me here?"

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Leo chuckled. "Nothing, never mind."

They carried the bags to the kitchen and set them on the counter. Leo handed Piper food that needed to be refrigerated and she put it away. She stopped suddenly, facing the open refrigerator, back to her husband.

"What is it?"

Piper sighed.

"What's wrong?" Leo asked.

She suddenly whipped around to face him. She stared at him for a few seconds, mouth open as if she were about to say something. She closed the refrigerator door and walked around the kitchen island and up to Leo. She stared up at him for a few seconds. She took his hand. "Follow me."

"Where?"

She smiled a bit. She led Leo into the living room and sat him down on the edge of the couch, taking a seat beside him. "I need to talk to you."

"Is everything okay?"

Piper smiled at Leo's worry. "Yes, everything is okay. I was just…thinking."

"About what?"

"About us…About what everyone thinks."

He cocked his head to one side, confused. "What do you mean? What everyone thinks?"

"About us…having…kids…"

Stunned, Leo remained silent.

Piper shrugged, feeling as confused as her husband was, and helpless to explain just how she was feeling. "I'm not sure…I was just thinking."

"Wait, who's been saying…" Leo trailed off.

"Everyone, Leo. Our friends and family have been dropping hints in everywhere for the past…Well, for a while. Kyle, Adam, Cortez, my sisters, your parents, your brothers…It's kind of making sense."

Leo didn't say anything.

"I just…I've always wanted kids. I've always thought it would be so fun. And we both have supporting families and we're not some new couple…I mean, seriously, how _did_ we pull off almost _eighteen_ years without any kids?"

"I'm…not sure…"

Piper almost laughed. "Don't tell me that you don't want to hold a baby? That you don't want to hear a child call you Daddy?"

Leo couldn't answer.

"I saw Ron's baby Lauren, and…It was magic, Leo. She was magic."

Piper quieted and waited for Leo to respond. He processed what she had just heard and tried to come up with something to say, taking both of her hands in his.

"Piper…I love you…I've always loved you…I've probably never said it, but hell, I've probably never actually thought it to myself, but I've always dreamed of having a family with you…We've just never talked about it or really…had the time for kids…I can't imagine how having a child would feel…I'm a new uncle and it still hasn't sunk in…"

Piper smiled a little. "You haven't seen Lauren yet."

He sighed. "I know. I will."

"We're just…running out of time, here, Leo. I was thinking the other day…If I had a baby when I was thirty-seven, when that child was thirteen, I would be fifty."

Leo nodded slowly.

"It's just…Something I've been thinking about…" Piper sighed.

He blinked. "I think you're right."

"What?" Piper looked up at Leo.

"You're right. I think we've both been thinking about it for years, but…we just haven't talked about it, or…even _consciously_ thought about it. I mean, you have a point: eighteen years is a _long_ time to go without having kids. I don't know how we did it."

"God has foreseen the consequences of a Wyatt-Halliwell child and prevented it in advance," Piper said darkly, a smile on her face.

Leo chuckled. He took Piper in his arms. "No…I don't know…But I think you're right…" he said.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." There was silence for a few seconds. "Okay, but babies don't just appear out of nowhere."

Piper smiled. "No…"

"So you…" He kissed the top of her head. "You throw out your birth control…stuff…tomorrow."

Piper giggled. She sat up and faced Leo. She stared into his eyes and kissed him, pushing him back onto the couch.

* * *

"She's beautiful, Marie."

"She is…" Marie beamed at her daughter's light blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Lauren was wrapped in a pink blanket and was currently on close watch because of a low fever. "Do you want to hold her?" Marie asked.

"Of course." Marie handed Lauren to Leo. It had been a while since he'd held a baby, and he looked up at Piper in awe. She smiled at him. Since their talk the day before about having children of their own, Leo had been wanting to see his brother's new baby girl.

"Out of all the drama and traumatic things we go through each day on the job, leave it to my baby to knock Leo speechless," Ron said.

"Ron, she's so beautiful," Leo whispered. Lauren gurgled.

Piper stood beside Leo and put her arm around his shoulder. "You can't take her home, you know."

"Look at her…"

Piper laughed softly. "I see her."

"Listen, Leo…" Ron started. "Marie and I sort of had a question to ask you two." He didn't finish, but instead nudged his wife.

Marie smiled. "We were wondering…if anything were to happen to us…I mean, nothing will, we know, but just in case…You two just seem so stable, and you're family…We wanted to make you Lauren's godparents."

Piper looked at Leo, both smiling. "We'd be honored."

* * *

Leo looked up, slightly startled, when a small pile of papers landed on his desk in a manila folder. Adam was standing over him.

"Rounds," was all Adam said.

"Time to take the kid out?"

"He needs some fresh air."

Leo groaned. He stood up lazily, grabbing the manila folder marked **_Rounds: Wyatt, Leo_ **in Amy's unmistakable handwriting. Adam left the office. Leo followed slowly, putting on his coat. He closed the office door behind him. As he headed for the precinct's exit, he shouted for Mike to follow.

"Kid, car!"

Mike rolled his eyes, but he followed anyway.

There wasn't much to do that night, so when they had finished patrolling, Leo radioed Adam at the station.

"Whatcha need, Wy?"

"Look, it's not a busy night at all. There's nothing to do."

"Hmm…All right, take the night off. I'll sign you guys out and send out a couple of guys in your places."

Leo was shocked, to say the least. "What?"

"You haven't gotten off this early in a long time. You deserve it. Go have a good night."

"Can do. Thanks, Adam."

Leo decided to take Mike to the restaurant Piper and her sisters owned. He hadn't been there in a while, since they had been spending weekends at Hell's Haven, and he was rarely off this early. It was only eight o'clock.

"You ever been here before?" Leo asked when he and Mike got there.

"Once or twice, yeah. I never knew your wife owned it."

"Yeah." They went inside, Leo first, and noticed that the place was sort of crowded. The typicals and the regulars were there, with a couple of men at the bar who rarely left. Families were the main table-takers, with many small children crowding the booths. Leo and Mike found Piper working the bar. Her sisters were off from working that day.

"Hi, boys. What're you doing here?"

"Adam let us off early, so I figured since I haven't been here in so long, we should stop by," Leo said, leaning over the bar for a quick kiss from his wife.

"I'm glad. Also glad to see the two of you together. Finally getting used to this partner business, eh, Leo?" Piper teased.

"Not really."

Piper smiled. "Hold on, I'll be right back." She turned and left for her office.

One of the bartenders approached them. "Why, Leo, what a surprise." She offered him a smile and briefly wiped the bar with a washcloth.

"Hey, Rachael."

"Who's your friend?" She nodded toward Mike.

"Not friend, partner. Rachael, this is Mike. Mike, get to know Rachael. She's my favorite single employee here."

Rachael laughed. "Can I get you boys something?"

"Just, uh, two beers."

"All right." She bent down and opened a small refrigerator, reemerging with two beer bottles. She handed them to Mike and Leo. "I'll put it on your tab," she said, and went back to work.

As if from nowhere, Victor swaggered up to them and sat to Leo's left at a bar stool. A glass of rum and coke was secure in his right hand. "Leo, haven't seen you here in a while."

"Hi, Victor."

The older man nodded. "So, at least you're here, and not out getting shot."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Leo asked through gritted teeth, fighting a sudden surge of anger.

Victor shook his head. "It doesn't mean anything…Never mind." He gestured in the air vaguely.

"Fine." Leo took a long pull of beer.

"You just go on and keep risking your life while my daughter waits at home for you. She worries and worries and worries all the time about you, and then when you come home okay, she feels better. Then the next day she worries and worries again. But you don't come home, do you? You get shot and go to the hospital and nearly die," Victor said, staring into the empty space before him as he spoke.

Calmly, Leo answered, "I didn't nearly die. I was barely even shot. It just scraped me."

Victor jumped up. "That's not what I'm talking about, Leo! You died right there on the operating table! Piper was right there behind the glass. She watched your heart stop and she watched that line go flat. Do you have any idea how she felt?" he hissed. His voice was staying fairly low, though a couple of people had taken notice to them.

"Victor, I think you've had one too many drinks…"

Victor's head rolled from side to side and he sat back down. "You didn't see her, Leo. She was _broken_. She was _hurt_. She was crying. You made her cry." His voice was quiet and angry now.

"That was five years ago, Victor. It's all in the past."

"And just because she got _attacked_ by one of those lunatics you're supposed to be keeping off the street—Just because that was _one_ year ago, that means it's it the past, too? It left _permanent _scars on her, Leo. He scarred her _body_. He hurt her, and _you_, the one person I _trusted_ to protect her, _failed_. You might as well have just let him in the door and fed him dinner while you were at it."

"What the _hell_ is that supposed to mean?"

Victor stood up again, face right in Leo's. "It means _you_ can't protect my daughter! Admit it! You know it!" he yelled.

The restaurant quieted; everyone's eyes were on Leo and Victor.

"You let him hurt her!"

"I would never do that! You know it! I'd have killed him right then and there if they'd let me! Don't even _suggest_ that I _wanted_ that to happen to her! Don't even _think_ it!"

Victor knew he had hit a very touchy subject. "I have suggested it, I have thought it, and I just _said_ it!"

"Fuck you, Victor!"

"If you can't protect my daughter, then get the _hell_ out of her life!" Victor pushed Leo's shoulders, shoving him away. Leo jumped back at him, but Mike and one of the bartenders who had seen the whole thing held him back. Victor was being held off by another bartender. He shrugged the man off and stalked off behind the bar counter to a back room, drink in hand.

Piper ran up. "What the hell was that? I was only gone two minutes!"

Mike and the bartender let Leo go after a short struggle, but they didn't go anywhere. "Victor, he—I think he's drunk. He just sat next to me and started rambling on about how I couldn't protect you," Leo explained.

"That's just Dad, Leo! He does that all the time, you know that! What happened?"

"He said…Never mind." Leo turned away.

Piper grabbed his arm. "No, I do mind! I just saw two people I love get in a fight! I almost witnessed my husband beating up my father! What the _hell_ happened?"

"He said…" Leo's voice dropped and he spoke close to Piper's face. "He said that what happened a year ago…He blamed me for it…He said it was my fault, and he implied that he thought I set it all up…"

"He what?" Piper asked angrily. She turned to run after her dad.

Wordlessly, Leo turned to the people of the restaurant, who were still watching. He followed the path Piper had taken after her father.

Victor was sitting in the office room of the restaurant. When Piper found him, she pushed him onto his feet. "What the hell took you over and told you to blame Leo for that?" she yelled. "Why in God's name would you blame Leo? He did everything he could! There was nothing—Why, Dad?"

"It was his fault, and you know it!" Victor slurred.

In a desperate effort to show exactly how angry she was, Piper punched her dad in the face. He slumped back into a chair, unconscious. "Never blame Leo for that, I don't care _how_ many drinks you've had!" she yelled.

Leo swung the door open. "Piper, what the hell…?"

Piper turned around and hugged him. "I love you," was all she said.

Slowly, his arms enclosed around her body. "You knocked your dad out," he said distantly.

"Leo, please tell me you love me," Piper whispered into her husband's shirt.

"I love you," he told her without hesitation.

Piper turned her head to glance at her father. "He was drunk…But I think he deserved it."

"You think he deserved to be knocked out by his own daughter?"

"It wasn't his place to talk about that…" Piper shook her head. "It wasn't his place," she whispered to herself.


	12. Finally Knowing

**Chapter 12 - Finally Knowing**

A week later, Leo was in the lounge at the station sitting at the round table. His father, brothers, Jamie, Adam, and Cortez were with him. The new officers that Jake graduated with—Josh, Kevin, and Alex—made their way into the lounge as well.

"So what'd you get her?" Jake was asking.

"A stuffed teddy bear. What do you think I got her?" Leo answered sarcastically.

"I'm serious. Eighteen years of marriage is a long time. It has to be special."

"I know…" Leo sighed. "It's a _very_ long time…"

"So what'd you get her?" Jamie asked.

Leo smiled evilly. He pulled a long, slim, black velvet box out of his inside coat pocket and opened it.

Jamie, being the only woman in the room, gasped. She reached out and took the box in her hands. Amy entered the room as Jamie opened the box, and whatever Amy was about to say died on her lips. She leaned over Jamie's shoulder as they stared at the diamond necklace.

"Is that real?"

"No, I got it at a toy vending machine. Of course it's real," Leo replied.

"You're sarcastic," Ron noted. "Calm down."

"Big day."

"Oh my God, it's beautiful…" Amy whispered.

"Where are you getting the money to pay for this?" Kevin asked.

"Marry me," Jamie whispered, glancing up at Leo.

Leo chuckled. "Already taken." He reached over and gently took the box from Jamie, closing it. He returned it to his pocket. "But feel free to envy."

"How much was it?" Rick asked.

Leo smiled an "I Know Something You Don't Know" smile. "Enough," he said.

"Marry me," Jamie repeated.

With another smile, Leo stood up and headed for the door. "Maybe another time, Jamie. Good day, folks. Gotta do rounds." He left the lounge.

Amy shook her head. "Piper sure is lucky."

* * *

That night, Leo took Piper to dinner. They were silent for a moment, just staring into each other's eyes.

"What?" Leo asked.

Piper blushed and looked down at the table. "Nothing."

"What?" Leo asked when she didn't speak for a few seconds.

"I was just thinking…Eighteen years, Leo."

"I know…"

She smiled. "It's been so long…Two more years, and we can renew our vows."

"Oh, Piper, I don't think I can. I don't think I'm ready for a commitment just yet," Leo joked.

Piper smiled. "You'd better be," she warned, "or else."

"Or else?"

"Or else I'll file for a divorce," Piper threatened. She and Leo used the threat of divorce to persuade each other into one thing or another, both knowing that a divorce would never happen. They still used it against each other, but only to tease.

Leo's eyes widened in pretend shock. "You would never," he said overdramatically, clasping a hand over his heart.

"Yeah, you're right. I wouldn't." Piper smiled. For a second time, they were silent, looking at each other as if one could reach the other's mind. "I love you."

"I got you something," Leo said.

"Oh, Leo Wyatt, you better not have." Years ago, they had agreed not to exchange anniversary gifts. Piper's reasoning for this was that the gifts put a price check on marriage, and she could wait until her birthday for big gifts.

Leo grinned and pulled out. He opened the box for Piper to see. She was sitting across from him, so she reached over the table and tenderly took the box in her two hands. She gently pulled the diamond necklace out and held it over her fingers. "It's beautiful," she whispered.

"I thought you'd like it."

Piper smiled up at Leo. "I love it."

Leo stood up and walked behind Piper. He knelt down to be level with her. She pulled her hair up to the top of her head and he fastened the necklace around her neck. She let her hair down and he smoothed it out.

"There," he said. He kissed her cheek and went back to his seat.

"God, I love you so much," Piper said, smiling.

Leo smiled back at her. "I know you do. I love you, too." They were silent for a third time. "I showed that to the guys at the station and Jamie proposed to me over it," he informed Piper.

"Did she now?"

Leo nodded. "What're you gonna do about it?"

"What am I gonna do? I'm gonna kick her ass, is what," Piper said jokingly.

* * *

The next morning, when the doorbell ran, Piper ran into the living room, heading for the door. Leo was following her. He grabbed her hand and she whipped around to kiss him. She pulled away first to retie her robe. His eyes scanned her body when she untied it, and he looked back up at her eyes when it was tied again.

The doorbell rang again.

"I have to get that, Leo."

"No you don't."

Piper giggled. She turned toward the door and opened it. Her smile fell. "What are you doing here?" she asked her father.

Victor sighed, running a hand through his gray hair. "I just…I came to apologize."

There was silence. Leo put his arm around Piper's waist protectively. Piper hadn't spoken with her father since that night at the restaurant, when she'd knocked him cold. She'd told her sisters what had happened, and they had stopped speaking to him, as well.

"There's nothing to apologize for. What's done is done," Piper said.

Victor, knowing he wasn't going to get through to his daughter, tried his son-in-law instead. "Leo, I never should have said that. I wasn't thinking straight."

"Of course you were thinking straight. You've never liked me, Victor. You've never liked the idea of me marrying your daughter. And quite frankly, I don't care if you'll ever like me. I'm not here to please you. Just don't accuse me of something I didn't do wrong."

* * *

A month passed by quickly. Leo got used to the idea of a partner and loosened up on Michael. He started talking to him, telling him stories about his past and listening to Mike more often.

Piper and Leo's family and friends knew they were trying for a baby, and supported them the whole way.

Leo was still waking up in the middle of the night at least twice a week with dreams of the past. They were still haunting him. Ron sent his brother to see the therapist, Mark Altman, three more times. Leo didn't like it at first, but it seemed to help some.

* * *

Cortez and the fiancé that Mike sort of met at Hell's Haven once had their wedding planned and sent out invitations. Most of 12th Precinct was invited, and his fiancé, who was a photographer, invited her friends, as well. Jamie brought her new boyfriend and Piper's sisters were there. The total of family and friends topped out at just over one hundred.

Piper got herself a first-row seat at the outdoor wedding. She would have sat next to her husband, but Cortez chose Leo as his Best Man. So instead, Piper sat beside Mike. She knew, little by little, Leo was learning to live with having a partner. She also knew that she could help with that. Still, she saw Leo's eye on her often, obviously watching carefully. He still didn't trust Mike completely.

At the reception, Cortez's dad approached Leo. "Officer Cortez," he greeted.

The older man laughed. "We've known each other for years, Leo. Call me Jean," he said, putting an arm around Leo's shoulders.

"Oh, I know. Just haven't seen you in a while. Respect for the groom's dad and all, you know."

Jean chuckled. "Right. _You're_ showing me respect."

"There's a first time for everything. I figured it was time. I did corrupt your son, after all."

"That you did…That you did." Jean nodded. "And I'm proud of him, too. So you're not worried about him?"

Leo shook his head. "Worried? Nah. Rebecca's a good girl…Well…Not a _good_ girl, but…Good for him."

Jean smiled. "They've been together for, what, three years?"

"Yeah, that sounds right."

Both men were momentarily silent, watching from under the outdoor gazebo as Piper and Cortez finished a dance with a twirl and a dip. They hugged and parted ways, Piper looking up and winking at Leo, and Cortez planning on cutting in on his new wife and her brother.

"You trust her?" Jean asked.

"Yeah, I do. She'll be good to him…We'll make sure of that."

"Good." Jean patted Leo's back, then walked away to talk to his son.

"Hey," Piper said, coming up to Leo.

"Well hey, there, where've you been?"

"All over this place." Piper smiled wide. "Did my fair share of dancing, too."

"And all without me. Look at you, all grown up!"

Piper laughed, then said, "Brings back some memories, doesn't it?" She took a bite out of a carrot she was holding. "Veggie tray," she explained.

"I see. And yes, it does."

"We haven't been to a wedding in a while."

"Well, just wait until Prue and Andy get married."

"If they ever set a date…Say, what's Cortez's first name again?" she asked, chewing on a bite of the carrot.

"Um…Robert."

"Robert?"

"Yes," Leo answered. "Roberto," he said with a Spanish accent.

Piper giggled. "Robert what?"

"Um…Jay?"

"Huh. Robert Jay Cortez. Yeah, I like plain old Cortez better."

"So does he."

* * *

Another two weeks passed. Leo started to treat Mike like he was a real person. He figured that if he had to be stuck with the guy…Well, he had to be stuck with the guy.

Still, it was another night, another round of questions. Piper was the topic this time. They started talking about one thing or another every night when they patrolled the neighborhood.

"So how did you guys meet? High school?"

"No, actually…We were, uh…seven."

"Seven?"

"Yeah. My family had just moved to San Francisco from Chicago…My brothers and I were playing football in the front yard. Piper was walking up the sidewalk when I threw a pass to Jacob…He missed and the football, uh…hit her in the head," Leo explained. He smiled at the memory.

"Oh, so you guys hit it off from there?"

Leo smiled again and shook his head. "No, no…She hated me for a year. We were the closest friends to ever hate each other. She finally gave up on hating me and we got to be good friends…Stuck together throughout Middle School, went to dances together, you know? Started dating in high school…When we were sixteen, our parents found out we were sleeping together and there were a lot of fights…

"Our siblings supported us. Her sisters, my brothers…They were a big help…Our parents cooled down after a while, after they figured out they couldn't stop us from being together." Leo chuckled. "Looking back, it was all quite funny."

"Oh yeah, sounds like a laugh riot."

"It was," Leo said matter-of-factly.

"So how'd you manage eighteen years with no kids?"

"It was very hard. We never really wanted kids. I mean, we were sort of still kids when we got married."

"But now…?"

"Times have changed."

* * *

A week later, Mike decided to try his luck on what he knew would be a touchy subject. When he and Leo were patrolling, he asked about the scars on Piper's stomach. Leo didn't answer.

"She wasn't like…suicidal…was she?" Mike asked tentatively.

"No."

Mike was surprised Leo hadn't killed him. He knew by the change in his partner's attitude that he'd reached a sensitive subject, but he had to figure it out. "Was she abused or something as a child?"

"No, no…"

"What happened?"

Leo sighed. He could make Mike drop the subject, but then he would be risking a lot of questioning in the future. He could clear it up here and now…He shook his head and made a decision. "About…About two years ago, I was following the path of this drug dealer slash bank robber slash attempted murderer…I tracked him down and arrested him, it was this big deal, in the news and all because there was a shootout and all that…He swore vengeance on me, but I didn't think anything of it; I get that a lot from the bigger criminals. But see, I arrested him about a block from my house. He'd been coming straight to me, and he'd threatened Piper a few times before that, to use her to get to me. He was in jail for about six months before he got parole…That's when he started calling my house…He started threatening me, threatening Piper…"

Mike nodded to show he was listening. They turned right, down a darkened downtown road.

"We tried to track him down, but we couldn't find him…He stopped calling for a few months, but uh, about a year ago, I came home from work early and found the front door open. Lock was jimmied. I knew something was wrong but I couldn't hear any noises coming from the house. When I came inside, though, I could hear, ah…I heard muffled screams coming from the bedroom and I could hear a man's voice saying something.

"The inside of the house was torn apart. A lamp was thrown down, glass was shattered, a chair was overturned…I saw a line of blood on the couch and ran to the bedroom. I, uh…I wasn't really sure what was happening. I could see…blood…and…Piper with a bandana in her mouth to keep her from screaming…There was another around her eyes…Her jeans were pushed down and her shirt was pulled up…I can remember a man…at the foot of the bed…I wasn't really sure what…"

Leo shook his head.

"I don't really remember it all…It was just a blur. I remember handcuffing the son of a bitch…Piper screaming when I tried to pick her up. I found the butcher knife he'd cut her with in the corner of the room…I called the station and called down some help and an ambulance…There wasn't much I could do except wash the cuts, but they were too deep…She went unconscious for a while, until after the ambulance was there…"

Leo paused for a second.

"…We took a statement from her and made a lineup…We arrested him and went to trial pretty quickly…He was convicted and sent to prison…"

Mike wasn't sure what to say. "What, uh…What was his name?"

"Daniel Gordon."


	13. Parole Possibility

**Chapter 13 - Parole Possibility**

Piper stood in the bathroom on a stool and lifted her shirt up to her bra. She looked down at her stomach then up at the mirror, where she could see the scars better. She held her shirt up with one hand and gently touched the scars with the other. She ran her finger along one.

The door opened and Piper jumped. Her hand flew to her heart and her shirt fell back down. "Oh, it's just you," she said.

"Just me?" Leo teased.

Piper smiled. "You know what I mean."

Leo stepped inside the bathroom and closed the door behind him. "What're you doing?" he asked quietly.

Piper sighed. "…They're kind of going away…" she whispered about the scars, lifting her shirt up again to look.

Leo, eye-level with Piper's stomach since she was on the stool, reached up and touched one of the scars. "It's been a year, Piper…I don't think they're going to fade anymore…"

Piper sighed, knowing the truth. "You're right, I know…"

Leo could see that knowing that bothered her, so he added, "They might, though…You never know."

Piper smiled slightly. "Thanks." She let her shirt drop back down. She held her arms out to Leo and stepped off the stool into his arms. He set her back on her own two feet. "Thanks again."

"Anytime. Now I have to go to work." Leo opened the bathroom door and left the room.

"Hey!" Piper yelled, following him. "Did you eat breakfast?"

Leo grabbed a black bag from a stool in the kitchen. Letters were embroidered on it that read: _San Francisco Police Department, Precinct 12_—_Wyatt, Leo._ He turned around. "Toast."

Piper smiled. "That's not breakfast."

"Fine, I'll get coffee and a doughnut at work. Look, I'm a stereotype!"

Piper laughed. "Wait up!" She ran to catch up with Leo, who was putting his coat on. She grabbed her coat, too.

"Where're you going?"

"Inventory at the club. I'll walk out with you."

"Okay."

* * *

"Whatcha need, Kid?"

"I want to know about a Daniel Gordon."

Amy looked up. Adam, who was leaning over her shoulder helping her find something on a computer, straightened up. "What about him?" Amy asked.

"What prison is he at?"

"Leo told you about him?" Adam asked.

Mike nodded.

"He moves around."

"How long is he in prison for?"

"…He's uh…" Adam paused.

"He's up for parole next week," Amy said quietly. "Don't tell Leo. Ron is telling him tomorrow night."

* * *

Piper smiled when she looked out the kitchen window. It was dusk, and the light was going away, but she could see clearly out the window into the backyard. The Wyatt brothers had started some sort of strange football game in the backyard. Right now they were huddled together in a circle, arm over shoulder. Piper watched as they exchanged a few plays, nodding sometimes and breaking the circle to act out a play.

They suddenly shouted, "Break!" and ran off in different directions. Piper saw that they left the football where their circle was. They all turned around and counted out loud in unison. "One...Two..."

Before they could shout "three", Jake took off for the ball. Ron and Leo exchanged a quick glance before sprinting after Jacob. Leo tackled the youngest Wyatt brother first, and Ron piled on top of them both.

Piper laughed. She pushed the window up and stuck her head out. "You boys are crazy!" she yelled.

Leo untangled himself from the mess. Jake jumped up with the football and held it over his head. Leo pushed him away and stepped in front of his brothers. He held his arms out and started singing. "You may be right! I may be crazy!"

Ron and Jake jumped up with Leo. "But it just might be a lunatic that you're looking for!" they all sang.

Piper laughed and shook her head. She closed the window.

"You may be wrong but you may be right…You may be wrong but you may be right…" the brothers sang loudly.

* * *

The next day, Ron pulled Leo away and into his office. He sat Leo down at his own desk and stood in front of him.

"What is this?" Leo asked, confused.

"The rest of the station decided I should be the one to tell you…" Ron started. He closed his eyes briefly, knowing that the fun they had yesterday may be the last time they have fun in a while.

"Tell me what?"

Ron sighed. "Dan…"

Leo abruptly stood up. "What about him?"

"They…He's up for parole."

"What? What the hell do you mean 'he's up for parole'?" Leo demanded, knowing full well what parole was and what it meant for Piper.

"Don't worry, his chances aren't good. He's just been a good prisoner and they wanna take a look."

"Don't worry?" Leo scoffed, throwing an arm in the air. "Why shouldn't I worry if the man who tried to _rape_ and _kill_ my wife has a chance of being on the _streets_ again? Ron, he soaked our room with her blood! How can they let him back on the street?"

Ron sighed. "I don't know. If it was up to me…" He shook his head.

"Oh my God," Leo groaned, running a hand through his hair. He fell back into the chair. "What am I gonna tell Piper?"

"Don't tell her until anything's final. She doesn't need the stress of worrying about it."

"And I do?"

"One of you needed to know. It's only fair…"

Leo nodded. "Thanks," he said honestly.

* * *

Between shifts, Piper called from her restaurant to tell Leo her car broke down and she needed a ride home. He waited in the parking lot for her and watched her run out with a laptop bag slung over one shoulder. A wide-spanning thundercloud had rolled over the sky, and as Piper stepped outside, there was a boom and the thunder dropped its rain on her.

She jogged up to the car and tried to open the door, but it was locked. She looked up at Leo, who was avoiding eye contact with her, beating his hands on the steering wheel rhythmically to a song on the radio.

"Leo!" Piper cried.

Leo looked over as if he'd just noticed her trying to open the locked door.

"Leo, let me in!" Piper laughed.

"It's gonna cost ya."

"I am getting _soaked_ out here!"

Leo leaned over to examine Piper's soaking wet body as best he could. When he was satisfied, he unlocked the door. Piper flung it open and climbed in. She slammed the door shut, then set her laptop bag in the backseat of the truck.

"Took you long enough."

He smiled, but had trouble looking into her eyes. Ron's news had troubled him, and he'd been on edge ever since.

"Why the off-duty truck?" Piper asked, mentioning the fact that Leo had picked her up in his own truck, not the squad car. He shrugged. Frowning, Piper asked, "Are you okay?"

He nodded, then switched to a different radio station and found a song to listen to.

_My Lady D'Arbanville  
__Why do you sleep so still?  
I'll wake you tomorrow  
And you will be my fill  
__Yes you will be my fill_

"What's the name of this," Piper asked offhandedly, trying to get Leo to warm up a bit.

"Lady D'Arbanville."

"Ah, I knew that. Cat Stevens…" Piper watched her husband for a moment, noticing how he never moved his eyes off of the road—which was fine, because it was raining, but it still seemed abnormal. He was wordlessly singing along to the words of the song.

_  
My Lady D'Arbanville  
__Why does it grieve me so?  
But your heart seems so silent  
Why do you breathe so low?  
__Why do you breathe so low?_

_My Lady D'Arbanville  
__Why do you sleep so still?  
I'll wake you tomorrow  
And you will be my fill  
__Yes you will be my fill_

_My Lady D'Arbanville  
__You look so cold tonight  
Your lips feel like winter  
Your skin has turned to white  
__Your skin has turned to white_

_My Lady D'Arbanville  
__Why do you sleep so still?  
I'll wake you tomorrow  
And you will be my fill  
__Yes you will be my fill_

_La la la la la la…  
__La la la la la la…  
__La la la la la la…  
__La la la la la la…  
__La la la la la la…_

_My Lady D'Arbanville why do you grieve me so?  
But your heart seems so silent  
Why do you breathe so low?  
__Why do you breathe so low?_

_I loved you my lady, though in your grave you lie  
I'll always be with you  
This rose will never die  
__This rose will never die  
I loved you my lady_

_Though in your grave you lie  
I'll always be with you  
This rose will never die  
__This rose will never die_

As the song faded softly, Piper asked, "So how'd it go at work?"

"Fine."

"Anything happen?"

They made it into the downtown area and past two stoplights before Leo answered with, "Nothing much. The usual."

"…Oh." Piper sighed. "What aren't you telling me?"

"I didn't have the best day, is all."

"Leo…"

"Piper, please. Just leave it alone," he said sharply, but pleadingly.

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, sure. Okay."

* * *

Piper let the subject drop for two days, and observed her husband's behavior in that time. She noticed a change in Leo's attitude mostly. He was more nervous, more on edge. The night before, she half-expected him to pull a gun on a man who came up from behind him to ask the time.

"So what weren't you telling me earlier?" she finally asked. Leo's behavioral change was worrying her. For the past few weeks, Leo had been better about being able to sleep all night. But the past two days were another story all their own. He hadn't slept in thirty-six hours, and spent an entire night straight through working at the station.

"What?"

"A couple days ago. You were about to tell me something, I know it," Piper yelled from the bedroom of her house. She was fixing her hair in front of the vanity mirror, and Leo was in the living room. "Hold on." She finished and walked into the living room. "Now…Will you tell me what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Leo…Don't lie to me. I know when you're lying, you know…"

Leo took his wife in his arms and looked down at her. "It's okay."

"No it's not. I know it. I know _you_." Piper's eyes were desperate. She wanted to know what was bothering him, so that maybe she could help. Leo sighed. He led Piper over to the couch and sat her down, taking his own seat beside her. "Leo…" she started, wanting to say something comforting.

"You know me too well…I wasn't going to say anything until it was final, but…" Sighing, he ran a hand over his hair.

"What is it?" Piper asked, moving closer to Leo.

"Ron came to me the other day and told me that, uh…" Leo sighed. "Dan…"

Piper breathed deeply. "What about him?" she asked, trying to stay calm, even though she was already panicking. She was panicking and all Leo had done was say his name…

Leo closed his eyes momentarily, then opened them again. "He's…He's up for parole in a few days."

Piper took in a sharp breath. "Oh." She nodded slightly. "Okay...How good are his chances?"

"Piper..."

"I said, _how good are his chances_? Will he make parole?" she demanded, not making eye contact with Leo.

He sighed. "They're not bad...My best guess is it's fifty/fifty..."

"But, Leo, how can they let him go after what he did?" Piper cried, standing up and failing her arms out.

Leo stood up as well and put his hands on hers to steady her. "Piper, listen. He's not going to get out. He's not," he assured her.

"...Why didn't you tell me until now?" Piper asked quietly.

"I didn't want you to be scared."

"Well I'm freaking _scared_, Leo!" Piper cried, throwing her hands up in the air again.

Leo took her in his arms. "It's okay, Piper...He's not getting to you. I promise. He won't hurt you."

Two tears slipped out of Piper's terrified eyes and trailed down her cheeks. She didn't want to relive last year. She couldn't.


	14. P3 Scare

**Chapter 14 - Tick Tock**

Leo woke with his arm around Piper's waist. Her back was to him, but he could tell she was still sleeping. It was a Sunday, so neither of them had to get up for a long time.

He kissed the top of her head and she wiggled closer to his chest. He tightened his grip on her.

She hadn't slept that well, waking up in a cold sweat in tears a few times that night. Knowing that Dan could return to the streets brought back bad memories for everyone, especially Piper.

He was surprised he wasn't in the same state, though he could attribute his self-control from breaking down to anger and shock that the parole board would actually consider such a thing. Actually, the dreams he was having had been going away, but he wasn't sure what was going to happen now. That didn't really matter, though. What mattered to him at the moment was that it was _Piper_ who had been waking up from nightmares.

He moved his hand under her shirt on her side and over to her stomach. He could feel the scars.

He remembered, not long after it happened, she wouldn't let him near her. He could hug her and hold her hand and kiss her cheek, but that was as far as she'd let him go for quite a few weeks. He understood and kept his distance; he didn't touch her legs, her side, her chest, and especially not her stomach. She flinched and recoiled if his hand brushed up against her in one of those places. She let him kiss her anywhere from the collarbone up, but when they fell asleep she rolled away and didn't let him put an arm around her.

A couple of months after it happened, his hand had accidentally brushed up against her stomach and she'd winced as if it was painful and turned away. He had to admit, the sexual tension got to him and bothered them both immensely, but she had been traumatized too badly for them to even care for the first few weeks afterward. It was the later couple of months, when she was healed physically but emotionally scarred, when he would tell her she was beautiful and she would scoff at him and blame herself. That was what tested their strength as a couple.

The doctor gave her creams to help the scars go away as soon as she'd healed over. Soon after, she started to let Leo touch her again. She was still wary of letting another hand touch the scars, he knew that. But soon more of her confidence returned. She'd started to wear shirts that showed a little more of her stomach. After a time, he was sure she felt enough strength inside herself to let him actually see the scars.

_He caught her in their bed at a time when she was wearing a nightgown, and lay down beside her. She was reading a book at the time, and without a word, he slowly pulled the nightgown up, past her hips and over her stomach, up to her chest. She had lifted off the bed a bit to help him, even, but immediately went back to her book._

_It was the first time she let him examine her physical state after the attack. As she concentrated harder and harder on the book, he laid his head near her stomach and felt each scar, each gash, remembering the moment he had walked in and saved her, remembering the endless therapy afterward and the sympathetic eyes of the family._

_The texture of the five scars was rough compared to her smooth, flat stomach. Light in color, almost white and pinkish, they greatly contrasted her tanned skin. Leo's finger followed along the path of the longest scar, traveling slanted past her navel and a couple of inches below. He stopped and backtracked, then traced the path of all five cuts._

_Piper's breathing remained calm, though sometimes she shuddered in a breath and the muscles of her abdomen flickered from his touch. She reached up to turn the page in her book, even though she had stopped reading long moments ago. Leo caught her hand in his, trailing it slowly down so that he could make her touch her own scars, so that he could almost force her to acknowledge their existence._

_When he released her, her eyes darted from him to the book. He hadn't looked at her, not even so much as a passing glance. His head was still by her side, and he was concentrating on her stomach. Shaky, she let him continue._

_In truth, Leo wanted both to see the psychical memory and to let Piper know that it didn't change how he felt about her. He still loved her, but no matter what he said, she would not believe him when he told her she was still so beautiful._

_His eyes journeyed down to take in her legs, and that was when, honestly, he noticed for the first time that she wore nothing under the nightgown. Intrigued, he brought his hand up to her chest, where the nightgown was somewhat bunched up. His hand ventured up under the material to the valley between her breasts, and he found her heartbeat and felt it quicken._

_Without thinking, he leaned up and placed a kiss on her side, near her stomach. Wordlessly, he moved himself up and pressed a kiss to the hollow of her throat, feeling her breath hitch. He let his hand fall back to her side, and gently took the book from her. She finally got to look at him, and he took a moment to stare into her brown eyes. He leaned down to kiss her, once, briefly, then pulled back to test her reaction. She broke into a small smile, and he took that as a sign to kiss her again. His hand moved to span over the scars on her stomach, and they kissed a third time._

It was the first time in three months that they made love, and it marked a new beginning for them both.

She wasn't using the creams anymore, knowing that the scars were as gone as they would ever be.

Leo kissed the top of her head again. She'd come so far since last year, he was truly amazed she'd made it. They didn't talk about it often, just short conversations that came up now and then.

Piper didn't like to talk about it, he knew that.

That was fine with him.

* * *

By the next Saturday, no one had heard any news about Dan and the possibility of his parole. Piper seemed to be doing better, sleeping better at least. She was shouting back and forth with Leo now as she folded clothes in the living room. He was in the bathroom in their bedroom, having just gotten out of the shower. The bathroom door was open and so was the bedroom door, so they could shout back and forth.

"So guess where I got a job offering…" Piper was saying.

"Where?"

Piper giggled to herself. "Pricilla's."

Leo dried his face with a towel. "You're kidding."

"No, actually, I'm not. A girl at the restaurant ordered a drink and said, 'Ya know, you should go apply at Pricilla's…in case you want a second job, you know?' I just laughed," Piper explained.

"So are you going to take the job?" Leo asked. Pricilla's was the local equivalent to Déjà Vu Showgirls, a well-known "gentleman's club".

Piper laughed out loud. "I'm shutting you out," she said, closing the bedroom door. She grabbed the empty laundry basket and turned to go back to the laundry room when the doorbell rang. She set the basket back down on the couch and went to the front door to open it.

She looked shocked to see Victor. "Dad…What are you doing here?"

"I, uh…heard about the situation with…Dan…and just thought I might drop by…" Victor started.

Piper nodded slowly. She let her dad inside and they headed for the living room. At that moment, Leo walked out of the bedroom, still damp, with only a towel wrapped around his waist. "Honey, I think one of your sisters came by and stole more towels—" He stopped short, noticing Victor, whose mouth was half open in shock.

"Um…Dad decided to stop by…" Piper said quietly.

"Oh…Well…" Leo nodded. He pointed to the door behind him. "I'm gonna go get changed." He disappeared behind the bedroom door.

Piper laughed nervously.

* * *

In the next week's time, Piper started to wonder if maybe Dan wasn't getting out…but she knew not to get her hopes up. But she had other things on her mind tonight, thankfully. There was a large 10th birthday party dinner taking place at the restaurant, and they were short two waitresses, including Phoebe and Prue, who were both out on a sick leave.

"Hey there."

Piper looked up from behind the ordering bar. She smiled when she saw standing before her. Behind him, Leo and Mike were making their way into the restaurant. They were getting closer as working partners, and that was certainly a good thing.

"Cortez, what're you doing here? Wait, what are any of you doing here? It's Saturday night."

"Yeah, well, we got the night off," Leo answered. "Wonderful blessing from above. I think Adam's wife let him '_play'_ again."

Piper whacked her husband in the arm with a dishtowel. "Hey, hey, hey. Virgin ears!" she said, pointing to the children. "Have some discretion."

Leo pointed at himself and put on a confused face.

"Yeah, you." Her smiling face turned suddenly serious. "Now, can I talk to you guys in the back office?" All three men were bewildered. "Now. Please." She led around the bar counter and down a short hallway to her office in the back room. As soon as she closed the door behind them, she whipped around and said, "I've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"Somebody has been…_calling_…the restaurant all night."

"Who?" Cortez asked.

Piper sighed. "I don't _know_. Whoever it is, they just call, let it ring a few times, then when one of my workers or I answer, they just…hang up."

Leo was nodding slowly as he took the information in. "Okay…We're gonna stick by the phones, then, all right? If whoever it is calls back and says something, you let me know…There's caller ID on the back office phone, right?"

"Yeah, but he hasn't been calling that phone, and it's a different extension. The bar phones don't have caller ID."

"Did you try a call-back number?"

"Yeah. Private name, private number. I don't know who it is." Piper shook her head.

There was silence for a moment before Piper asked the question that had been plaguing her. "…You don't think…You don't think it's…"

Leo shook his head immediately, before Mike or Cortez could even think to respond. "No."

But Piper didn't seem convinced. She shook her head slightly at him. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. When she sighed contentedly he planted a soft kiss on the top of her head.

Twenty minutes passed and the phone didn't ring. Thirty minutes. Forty. An hour later, as the birthday party was winding down, the phone in the restaurant rang. Piper, who was walking past, froze in her place.

"Transfer it to the back office, just don't pick it up," Mike said.

Piper pressed the _Line 2_ button, then nearly ran for the back to the phone. She sat down beside it and listened to it ring twice, as Leo, Mike, and Cortez followed her back.

"Answer it," Leo encouraged.

Piper stared at him, then picked the phone up with a shaking hand. Her eyes were locked onto Leo's as she put the receiver to her ear and said, "Hello?"

There was a pause. "Why, Miss Halliwell, how good to hear your voice again."

Her body was stiff. The blood drained from her face and her knuckles turned white as she gripped the phone. "Who…Who is this?" she managed to ask, but she knew. She knew his voice. It was burned into her memory.

"Don't remember me?…We'll have to meet for dinner sometime to…jog your memory, Miss Halliwell."

She'd been denying it, but she knew now she couldn't deny it any longer. Summoning all the courage she could muster, she said firmly, "Stop calling me that. I'm married, Dan."

Leo nearly fell out of the seat he'd barely sat down in. He stared at Piper, who was determined not to make eye contact with him. She was staring intently at the wall, her eyes already glistening with tears.

Dan continued on the other line. "Fine, fine…I just wanted to hear your voice again…You know, I've been dreaming about it for the past year…Have you been dreaming about mine?" he asked huskily.

"Wha—What do you want?"

The calm voice turned harsh. "I want you," he spat.

Her body jerked and her eyes closed. "Why?"

"Be_cause_, Miss Halliwell…Can't you see? I love you. I called earlier, to talk to you, but I'm afraid I'm a bit…shy…so I hung up." His voice was cool again. "After that taste of you I had once, I realized I wanted more. And now I can. I can have you all to myself…in time."

"You can't."

"Ah, we'll see," he said slowly, and she could literally near him smile. "And…just so you know…Call it a friendly warning…Might want to clear out the building. I heard from a source…You know…Tick tock, tick tock."

_Click._

Shaking even more, Piper set the phone down in its cradle. Slowly, she turned to face Leo.

"Was that…" He couldn't finish.

She nodded. "We have to evacuate," she said as calmly as possible.

"Why?"

"Tick tock, tick tock. That means bomb, right?" Piper asked in a tiny voice. "Oh, God, Leo, there are children in here."

That was all they needed. Leo pulled Piper up to her feet as Mike and Cortez ran off to get the building cleared. Piper made her way out to talk to a couple of the mothers who had organized the party. She told them that she was sorry, but they would have to vacate the area.

"Please don't ask questions, and leave quickly. Just get the kids out…Now," she said pointedly, and they got the idea. Within a minute and a half, fifteen confused children and five mothers were gone. Sighing with relief, Piper turned to the rest of the eaters. "I'm sorry, but you'll all have to leave. We have a problem in the building, and we need to get everyone out as quickly as possible."

At first, no one moved. Then, slowly, the confused people started to leave. Piper glanced over at Cortez, who was calling in the Bomb Squad and backup.

"We need to get people out of the two buildings on either side of us, since they're so close," Leo said.

It took ten minutes, but by the time the Bomb Squad showed up, everyone was gone from Piper's building and the two on either side of it. The Bomb Squad went in to investigate, checking every crack and crevice for anything unusual. Piper was standing outside on the other side of the street with Leo. He was standing behind her, his arms wrapped around her waist to her stomach, and she was holding her hands over his. He was whispering to her, telling her that everything would be okay, that there was no bomb, no problem with the restaurant, that it wasn't Dan.

And she was telling him that it _was_ Dan, that there _could _be something in the building, that it could explode. She looked around to the people all over the street coming out of buildings and other restaurants to gawk at the scene, then hung her head. "This is going to ruin business."

Leo and Piper didn't move for ten minutes. Then he walked her over to his truck and they sat on the back of the bed of the it for half an hour, not moving and hardly saying a word, just watching the commotion.

* * *

Two hours later, a member of the Bomb Squad approached them. He ran a hand through his hair and said to them, "We checked the place high and low…We're running another search now, but…There's nothing…We checked all the cars still in the lot, including your police cars and this truck. There was nothing any of us could find."

Piper shook her head. "He said…"

"Sometimes they lie," was all the man said.

"It was him…It was Dan, I know it."

"I've already got Adam ready to try trace the call," Leo told her. He looked up at the Bomb Squad chief. "Can I get some of my men in there?"

"We're gonna check it over once more. In about an hour, you probably can."

Leo nodded. When the man walked away he turned to Piper. "C'mon, we'll take the truck to the station."

"The station, why?"

"To file a report. If that really was Dan—"

"It was, Leo. I know it was."

"—then I'll need to check up on him, see where he is. I haven't heard anything about him getting parole—"

"Leo, you said he wouldn't. You said he wouldn't get out."

"No, I…I said it was fifty/fifty."

"He can't get out, Leo. He just _can't_."

"I don't know how he could make a call from prison, though…"

"It was him, Leo, I swear."

* * *

They ran into the station so fast that Amy jumped from her desk. "What the hell got into you two?" she snapped.

"Adam!" Leo yelled toward the back room, where Adam's office was. His hand was wrapped tightly around Piper's, and he wasn't about to let her go.

Adam came running. "What is it?"

"Dan—He contacted Piper."

It took Adam a moment to register this. "What?"

"He called at the restaurant and said there was a bomb in the building. The Bomb Squad has been in there and they're finishing up, so I need some of our guys to try to trace the call, see where it came from."

Adam nodded, but his attention was on Piper. "You okay?"

She shook her head. "Nope." She turned to Leo. "I want to call my sisters," she said weakly.

He nodded. "Use my phone."

She walked away to his office slowly. Everyone in the main room heard the door slam hard.

"What are we gonna do?" Amy was the first to ask.

"We find him."


	15. Free

**Chapter 15 - Free (Miss Halliwell)**

Two weeks passed, and no one could trace the call. Dan was still in prison, but Leo got word that he was under even closer review.

Piper spent more and more time with her sisters or locked up in her room. When Leo would come home he would find her asleep on their bed or on the couch with Yukon.

He found her like that one day two and a half weeks after the bomb threat. Her restaurant was closed until the end of the week, and Piper had endless paperwork to fill out.

But when Leo came home for lunch that day, he found her curled up in a ball with Yukon at the foot of their bed, stacks of papers surrounding them both.

He smiled. He walked into the room quietly and Yukon stirred. "Down," Leo whispered. The dog obeyed, sliding off the bed, stretching, and slowly walking into the living room to sleep. He jumped up on the couch and curled up.

Leo turned his attention back to Piper. Very carefully, he collected the stacks of papers in crisscrossed piles, so as not to mix them up. He set the papers on the nightstand and crawled into the bed beside Piper. He pulled the blankets up over her shoulders and she curled up tighter.

Absentmindedly, he stroked her hair softly. She sighed quietly.

He rolled her over to face him and saw that she was awake. And crying. He didn't need to ask why, he just pulled her closer. She curled up in his chest and cried quietly. She was afraid, afraid of Dan, of what would happen to the club, afraid for her life. If Dan could call her at the restaurant from prison, what could he do if he was free?

"It'll be okay," she heard Leo whisper.

"How do you know?" she asked with a sob.

He didn't answer. After a moment her quiet sniffles were gone. He waited another moment to be sure she was asleep before he pulled the blankets up to her again. She gave a contented sigh in her sleep.

* * *

Across town the next day, Leo's brothers and Piper's sisters were arguing at Ron's house. Andy had been dragged along by Prue, and the Wyatt father was there. It was Ron and Jake vs. Prue and Phoebe right now, and no one else was ready to get into it yet.

"She had every right to know, but she doesn't need to take any drastic measures yet! He's not even out of prison!" Prue was yelling.

"If it means keeping her alive, then why the hell _shouldn't_ we take drastic measures? It's not up to Piper what's best for her. _You_ don't know what a man _in_ prison is capable of, let alone one _fresh out_!" That was Ron.

"How isn't it up to Piper how to stay alive? She knows the ropes, she's been watching all of you for the past ten years!" Phoebe argued.

"She doesn't know the half of it! We can keep her safe for sure, but if she stays out in the open he could find her again," Jake said.

"He just _called_, that's _all_!"

"First it's harassing phone calls, then it's letters or confrontations, then it's abduction or attempted murder! After one try, they usually try again!"

Phoebe was shaking her head in disbelief. "No, he won't try again. He's not that dumb—"

"He _already_ tried again by calling the restaurant!" Jake cut her off. "He _won't_ _stop_, Phoebe. Stop denying it. He _will_ keep coming!"

When Rick and Andy tried to break up the fight, it took them both to hold everyone off of each other. Ron's wife Marie came downstairs after just putting the baby to bed.

"What the hell is going on down here?" she yelled, silencing them all. To Prue and Phoebe, she said, "_You're_ fighting about Piper's rights to protect herself, and you—" She threw an arm at Jake and Ron. "You are trying to tell your sister-in-laws that their sister could be murdered! Of _course_ they're going to deny it! They have every _right_ to deny it!" She turned back to Phoebe and Prue. "But _you_ can't run from the truth, no matter how hard you try. You have to remember that there _is_ a danger in this, there always _was_ a danger, but that doesn't mean that your brother-in-laws don't know how to protect Piper. This is their _job_, it's what they _do_! Just _trust_ them!"

No one said anything for a few seconds. Prue glanced around. "Where'd Andy go?" she asked randomly.

As if on cue, Andy rushed in. "I just got off the phone with the sergeant at my station. I asked him to stay posted on Dan—He's out, he just got out."

* * *

When Prue called Piper and told her, the middle Halliwell sister almost fainted. She threw on her coat and was out the door with Yukon barking at her. She was almost in three accidents on her way to the station, where she knew Leo was. Her tires screeched in the parking lot of the station, and her legs couldn't get her up the steps fast enough.

The door burst open and a distraught Piper was standing just inside the stationhouse, on the linoleum floor. Everyone looked up. Leo, who had been asking Amy to look up some old files for him, turned to his wife, shocked. "Piper, wha—"

"He's back," Piper panted. "Dan—He's back."

"What?"

"Go on and ask your fucking brothers! Everybody's over at Ron and Marie's house fighting over what they're going to do with _me_! Andy got a tip from his sergeant—He's _back_. He's out! He's gonna come here, or—or at our _house_—"

Leo was already standing in front of Piper, taking her in his arms. He took her to his office. She broke down and started to cry.

There was a knock on the door. Adam came in. Piper looked up at him with red, teary eyes. "We just confirmed it," he said quietly. Piper nodded.

"Find him," Leo said.

"We can't arrest him. We can only monitor him."

Piper yanked away from Leo. "_Why not_?" she cried. "He shouldn't be _out_!"

Leo hushed Piper by pulling her back into his arms. She didn't resist.

"I'll get some investigators out, to find and watch him," Adam said. Leo nodded. Adam left the office, closing the door behind him.

"He's going to come for me, Leo," Piper sobbed.

"No he's not."

"He is! I know he will! He said he would a year ago! He _told me_ he would be back!" Piper argued.

"Piper, it'll be okay. He's not going to hurt you."

She took in shaky breaths, not getting in much air. "Oh, God, I—I can feel his hands on me…" Suddenly she was wiping her hands at her sides and stomach, trying desperately to rub off the disgusting feeling that came over her.

Leo was at her side, putting his hands over hers, hoping that his touch could wash away Dan's. "Shh, it'll be okay," he whispered to her. "He can't get to you, he won't."

She was silent for a moment. "Promise?"

He nodded. "I promise."

* * *

Ron and his partner Jennifer Woods were already in their undercover car heading for the apartment Dan was staying at. They parked out front on the street.

"He's up there?" Jenny asked.

Ron nodded. "Third floor. Room Three-O-Nine."

Jenny nodded. "Let's get to his parole officer and see what he knows."

Ron agreed.

* * *

"As far as they're concerned, Mr. Gordon was a model prisoner," the PO explained. He was a short, balding man with a bit of a pot belly and an old, cheap wedding ring on the wrong finger.

Ron snorted. "Model prisoner. This man attacked my sister-in-law. He tried to rape her! He almost killed her!"

"I know that, Detective, but all I can do right now is watch him. He just got out today. I'll see him again…" The parole officer checked his schedule. "He comes back tomorrow at three."

* * *

Leo hung up the phone the next morning after taking in the information Ron had just delivered. Before he'd hung up, Ron had told him not to try to make any contact with Dan, but to just leave him be.

"He won't try anything," Ron had said.

Leo turned around to see Piper standing across the kitchen from him, on the other side of the island. She was wavering slightly, hugging herself nervously. Yukon was sitting obediently at her feet, his tail swishing on the floor.

"Ron and Jenny found his parole officer. They're keeping track of him, okay?" Leo reported.

She nodded a little.

"He's supposed to be in tomorrow at three. If he skips that, we can automatically arrest him and put him back in for at least another six months."

Piper nodded again.

Leo took a step toward her, moving around the kitchen island. She stepped back and he stopped abruptly. She'd never done that before. "Piper…"

No answer. She sniffled quietly, but her eyes were cold as ice. Her hair was tousled from just waking up and she was still in pajama bottoms and a camisole.

"C'mere."

Very slowly, not taking her arms off of herself, she moved up to him. Yukon watched with curiosity as Leo wrapped his arms around Piper. She stood silent, fighting tears, determined not to cry again.

It didn't work.

* * *

Prue ran to the phone in her house as it rang for the seventh time. "Hello?" she said.

"Prue, I think Piper needs to stay with you these next couple of nights," was the first thing Leo said.

She nodded. "Okay. Should I get Phoebe over here?"

"Yeah, probably. She just…She just needs you guys right now. And she needs to stay busy, keep her mind off of things."

"That doesn't sound like the end of it," Prue said suspiciously.

Leo sighed. "It's not…I'll be working late the next few days. Real late."

"Leo…"

"I'm not doing anything stupid. I just want to know what's what. Okay?"

Prue sighed this time. "Yeah…"

"I'll bring Piper over around six, okay?"

"I'm not her babysitter, Leo," Prue reminded.

"I know. But she needs this right now. We both do. She needs you guys and I need to keep moving or I swear I'll go crazy…"

* * *

"Listen…Leo…"

He hadn't been listening to anything Mike was saying. He was looking for Dan's old file. It used to be in the bottom drawer of his desk…No, maybe it was in the record's room…There was a copy…

"Leo…"

He sat back in his chair and went through the bottom drawer. When he didn't find the file, he slammed the drawer shut.

"Leo!"

He finally looked up.

"You're losing it."

He sunk back into the chair and leaned his head back and took a deep breath. "I know…I know."

"Now are you just gonna tear this place up or do you want to see where he lives?" Mike asked.

This sparked Leo's interest. Why hadn't he thought about it before? "Yeah."

* * *

"Left up here."

Leo turned the car left and drove down the street.

"There, on the right."

He parked beside the building. They were in his truck, not the squad car. He looked up at the building. "Which one?"

"Three-O-Nine."

Leo nodded and examined their surroundings. He noticed a black car parked at least seventy-five feet in front of them. "Wait a second…" He grabbed the CB radio they'd installed long ago on the truck that hooked up to the police radio. "Ron, are you and Jenny sitting in front of Dan's apartment building?" Leo said into the radio.

There was a second of crackling static before Ron's answer came over the radio. "Yeah, a truck just pulled up behind us. I'm waiting for someone to get out."

Leo looked at Mike and they both laughed. Leo opened the door.

"Door opened," Ron's voice came over the radio.

Leo grabbed the intercom speaker. "Ronald James Wyatt, step out of the vehicle. We have you surrounded." The intercom made his voice echo on the walls of the buildings on either side of them.

Ron jumped out of the car. "You son of a bitch!"

Leo and Mike got out of the truck laughing. They met Jenny and Ron on the sidewalk halfway between their two cars. After making fun of Ron for not recognizing Leo's truck, they looked up at the building.

"They send a lot of guys on parole here," Leo noted.

Jenny nodded her agreement.

"Is he on this side of the building?"

Ron shook his head. "No. We went in earlier. Three-O-Nine is on the other side. That's why we're here, so he doesn't know."

"At least, he shouldn't…" Jenny said.

"All right, everybody, hands up!" a voice yelled at them.

The four of them turned around to see a police car at the end of the street and two officers shielded by the front doors of their squad car.

"What the hell…"

"It's the thirty-third. We're on their territory," Mike said.

"This is the Thirty-third Precinct! Hands up!" one of the officers yelled.

"Told ya."


	16. Phone Threat

**Chapter 16 - Phone Threat**

"So we're standing there, hands up, when the cops come up and like, give us a freakin' pat down. I felt like a drug dealer," Leo was explaining to the guys at the station. He, Jenny, Mike, and Ron had just gotten back from their encounter with the Thirty-third.

"What'd you do?"

Leo laughed and turned the floor over to Jenny. "Well, they found my gun first, and they _freaked_. I mean seriously."

"Then Ron grabbed one of the guys and held him back and Leo held back the other one—" Jenny paused to let the guys clap some "—and I pulled out my badge. They were like…stunned, or something."

"They said they were new on the job and had made some drug busts here before and thought we were dealers," Ron jumped in.

"They thought they were on _our_ territory," Mike said.

They laughed.

"So we threatened them and sent 'em on their way. Told them if we saw 'em again on our turf, we'd report them."

* * *

The next two days were full of endless work, following and tracking Dan Gordon, and coming home in the early hours of the morning. Leo slept for two or three hours and went back to work.

He didn't talk to Piper, and assumed her sisters were taking better care of her than he could while doing all that work. He called her once, to see how she was, but they talked only for a few minutes, and awkwardly.

On the third day since she had been dropped off at Prue's house, Piper saw headlights in the driveway. "Leo's here," she said offhandedly. 

Prue and Phoebe looked up, too. "Ah, let him come in. I'm one roll away from passing Go."

The girls had gotten out Monopoly and started playing a long time ago. They were determined to finish the long game before Piper or Phoebe left. It was something to keep their minds off of Dan, to keep a little laughter in Piper.

Leo knocked on the front door.

"Come in!" Prue yelled.

He came in and found Piper and her sisters sitting on the living room floor playing Monopoly. "Hey."

Piper looked over her shoulder at him. "Hey, Baby."

"Who's winning?"

"Me!" all three sisters shouted at once. They looked at each other and burst out laughing.

Andy came into the living room. "Still?" he asked them.

"Yes, we're still on the same game," Phoebe answered.

"Hell."

"Hey, Andy." Leo was already sitting on the arm of the couch.

"Leo. They pulling you into the game?"

"Oh, no. I thought I was coming by to get Piper, but it looks like they're gonna camp out in the living room until this game is finished, so…"

"Want a beer?"

"Sure."

Two hours later, they were on the road, Piper still bragging about her Monopoly victory. "You know, we were playing for like five hours."

Leo nodded.

"And I only won by like…a hundred thousand dollars!"

He smiled at her happiness. "Did Prue feed you?" Piper gave him a look. With a smile on her face, she silently told him she wasn't being babysat. "Sorry," he said with a chuckle.

She slapped his arm then settled back into her seat. "No. She didn't feed me."

Leo laughed. "What do you want to eat? There's nothing at home."

"Jeez, Leo, I was only at Prue's for two days."

He smiled.

She shrugged. "…Let's go to McDonald's."

"How 'bout Taco Bell?"

She considered this. "Yeah. Taco Bell sounds gone. We haven't been there in a while."

He had a feeling she was avoiding the issue at hand, that is, Dan. But then again, he was avoiding it, too. He decided not to say anything.

* * *

They walked in the front door together, both Piper and Leo carrying three bags of food with them and in the middle of a laughing fit. Piper led the way into the kitchen and they put the bags on the counter. They looked at the six bags of Taco Bell food, then at each other, then burst out laughing again.

"Why did we buy so much food?"

"That was like forty bucks!"

"Oh, God, did you see the look on that poor girl's face when she handed all this to us?"

Leo dug into one of the bags and pulled out a Kid's Meal. He took the bag of cinnamon twists out and ate one. He handed one to Piper. She was somewhat tipsy from laughing, but then, it could have been the three beers she had at Prue's house, a reason why she didn't drive home. Without really realizing it, she blurted out, "I have a question."

"Shoot."

"Should I be back on birth control?"

This question seemed to shock Leo, but then he realized the importance of it. He couldn't believe they hadn't talked about it yet.

"Well…Uh…I dunno."

"I mean…With Dan…back…You think maybe we should hold off on trying for a baby until this…threat is gone?"

"What, does that mean no more sex?"

Piper laughed.

"If that's what it means then Honey, not a chance."

She laughed again. "I just mean…It might not be safe…"

Leo moved up to her and took her in his arms. "Sweetie, I don't think Dan will still be here in nine months, and that's assuming you conceive like, tonight."

She nodded slowly. "I want a baby."

"I know you do. I do too."

"…I think I could be a good mother, right?"

He stepped back to stare into her eyes. "Of course. Better than Marie," he said, face serious, but he was only kidding about Marie, who was a great mother.

She smiled. "Thanks." She fell into his embrace once more and sighed deeply. "I missed you…" After a silent moment, she pulled away. She grabbed a taco from one of the bags and unwrapped it. She took a bite out of it and headed for the living room. The answering machine was beeping. "Hmm, someone called…" She mused. She pressed the PLAY button on the answering machine.

The woman-like machine voice started talking. "You have…_three_…missed messages…First message, Saturday, June 25, 2005, 6:13PM."

A man's voice started playing over the small speaker. Piper and Leo both recognized it right away. Piper's eyes shot up to Leo's.

"Hello, Miss Halliwell. Do you know who this is?" The voice chuckled. "I bet you do…" There was a pause. "Just…calling to check up on you. Wondering if you're thinking of me…We had some good times, Miss Halliwell, didn't we?" Another chuckle. "Do you remember?" the man whispered, his voice low and eerie now. "I remember…You screamed a lot…Do you scream, Miss Halliwell? In bed, do you scream?"

Piper's breathing sped up. She felt as if she was choking.

The voice continued, low and whispering. "You scream under the blade of a knife, do you scream under a man?"

Piper's fingers were working at the hem of her shirt. She slipped a hand under it and fingered one of the scars.

The voice chuckled. "I'll bet you do…Ah, well, we'll soon find out anyway….Soon enough."

The message ended. The machine voice was back. "Second message, Saturday, June 25, 7:04PM."

Adam's voice came over the small speaker. "Leo, it's Adam. Listen, Dan didn't show up for his parole officer today. You can arrest him. I thought you might like to do the honors."

Piper glanced at the clock. "Is it too late to bring in the tape?"

Leo looked at the clock, too. It was almost ten. "It's never too late."

Piper nodded. She popped the recorded tape out of the answering machine and handed it to Leo without bothering to hear the third message. It didn't matter. They were ready to leave right away when the phone rang.

Piper's eyes shot up to Leo's again. She was silently asking him if she should answer. He nodded. Shakily, she picked up the cordless phone. She hesitated before saying, "…Hello…?"

"Hey, Piper, what's wrong?" Prue's asked.

Piper let out a deep sigh. "N—Nothing. I have to go, Prue. I'll call you later."

"Uh…Okay, but you left your purse here."

"Okay. I'll come by for it tomorrow or something."

"…Okay."

"Bye."

"Um, bye…"

Piper put the phone back on the charger and looked up at Leo. "Prue. She said I left my purse there. I can get it later. Let's go in now."

* * *

There were a dozen people listening to the tape at the station. Cortez, Adam, Amy, Jenny, Ron, Jake, Rick, Mike, and Jamie were just a few. When the tape was over, they let out a collective sigh.

"Oh, God…"

"Harassment and parole violation. We can arrest him, but we can't hold him for long. Six months in jail, no less," Adam said.

"I'll take what I can get," Piper said firmly.

They looked at her, surprised.

"We'll go right now, then."

Adam nodded.

* * *

Leo, Ron, Jake, and Rick were standing in the hallway just outside of Dan's apartment door. The landlord was with them, knocking on the door.

No answer.

The landlord looked at Leo. He nodded. The middle-aged man stuck the key in the lock and turned the knob. The door opened. Leo, his brothers, and their father filed into the apartment, guns drawn and ready.

They checked the entire apartment.

Dan was gone.


	17. Witness Protection

**Chapter 17 - Witness Protection**

The police searched Piper and Leo's neighborhood and the neighborhood near where Dan was staying at. No one found any trace of him. Not being able to find Dan was harder on Leo than having him on parole. He was edgy, nervous, and ready for anything. He hardly let Piper out of his sight, except for when they went to work, and even then he went to the restaurant every few hours. Piper wasn't annoyed at all, she was scared. Leo was the one who could calm her down and make her feel better when Dan was a threat to them. When Leo was nervous now, Piper was terrified.

Leo didn't like leaving Piper alone at home when he was at work. He knew she locked the doors when she was home alone and that Yukon was always on guard, but a lock can be jimmied and a dog can only do so much. He was constantly calling her, and he tried to get hours off. He came home earlier, not long after dark. He still left early, but as long as he knew Piper was safe, he was calm.

* * *

"I want to catch him."

"I know you do," Jamie said, getting some coffee from the break room. She filled an extra cup for Leo and brought it to him. She sat down across from him at the round table. "We all do."

Leo nodded distantly. He looked at the coffee Jamie handed him and took it. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Sure. You look tired anyway."

He nodded again. "I worry."

"I know you do," Jamie repeated.

"I think…Every time I leave the house I think he's there, waiting for me to leave…I think that when I leave Piper alone…" He shook his head. "I don't know."

"Why are you still at work, then, if you worry so much? What if it gets in the way of your job?"

Leo looked up. "It hasn't yet. It won't. It never has. I can handle it, I always do."

"I know you do."

* * *

Piper woke to sounds of the dog's feet skidding on the tile kitchen floor. She had been watching TV in the living room when she fell asleep on the couch. She looked up to see Yukon run into the living room. He ran to the window, pushed the curtain aside with his nose, and gazed out. After a moment he growled softly.

"What is it?" Piper asked the dog.

Yukon flipped his head out of the window and looked at Piper, mouth open and panting, eyes wide and brown.

She smiled. "What'd you see? A cat?"

Yukon immediately looked back out the window. His tail started flipping back and forth slowly, then his whole body was shaking. Piper stood up and looked out the window, pushing the curtain aside. She smiled.

"There's no one out there, you weirdo."

She patted the dog's head and went back to the couch. She sat down for a moment and watched TV, then got tired again. It was a little bright in the living room so she went to her bedroom and lay down.

She was asleep in a few moments, and woke again to Yukon making noises, only this time he was barking. He had been lying at the foot of the bed with Piper when he suddenly jumped up and ran outside the bedroom to the kitchen door, where he stood barking. Piper immediately jumped up, noticing that Yukon was growling loudly and his barks sounded different, more protective. She went to the kitchen door and stopped dead in her tracks. The doorknob was jiggling.

Frozen, Piper stared at the door while Yukon jumped up and grabbed the knob in his mouth, growling at it. The doorknob stopped jiggling and Piper heard faint footsteps run away. She heard a car start down the street and peel off down the road.

Yukon ran to the living room and howled and barked as the car drove away. Piper didn't even move to see. She had a very good idea as to who it was.

She stood in front of the door for a long time after Yukon calmed down. Cautiously, she reached out and touched the handle. She twisted it a little and opened the door slowly. She looked outside to the neighbor's yard. No one was home there, but the neighbor across the street was running up to the house, her seven-year-old daughter on the porch where she was told to stay.

"Oh my God, Piper, who was that?" the young woman asked when she reached Piper.

"I…don't know…What did you see?"

"I saw a black SUV drive up and a man get out. He went up to this door with some sort of tool in his hand and started messing with the doorknob. Was he trying to break in? Should we call the police?"

Piper was a little dazed, very scared. "I will, don't worry."

The woman nodded and went back to her daughter. Piper ran inside, locked the kitchen door behind her, and grabbed the phone from the kitchen counter. She dialed the number to the station.

Amy answered. "San Francisco Twelfth—"

"Amy, it's Piper. I need to talk to Leo—Now."

"Piper, what happened?"

"I don't know, I just need to talk to Leo!" Piper nearly shouted into the phone. The reality of what just happened or may have happened was hitting her, and she was very scared.

"Okay, hold on."

The line clicked over.

Leo's voice came seconds later. "Piper?"

"I think someone just tried to break in," Piper said, tripping over her words.

"What?"

"I—I was asleep and then Yukon started barking and growling—not like normal—and the kitchen door…The knob was jiggling and then Yukon bit it and it stopped and someone ran off and I heard a car…Julie, across the street, she said she saw someone…You don't think…?"

"Go over to Julie's, don't touch the kitchen door, I'll be right over, okay?"

Piper nodded. "Okay. Hurry, please."

"I'm halfway there."

* * *

Leo and Mike arrived moments later, lights flashing and sirens wailing. They parked outside the driveway. Piper ran over from across the street on Julie's front porch up to Leo and Mike. She flung herself into Leo and threw her arms around him.

"Are you okay?" he whispered in her ear.

She nodded a little, pulling back.

Mike had already gone around to the kitchen door from the outside. He lifted the loose doorknob slightly. Piper and Leo walked up, his arm around her waist and her arm on his back.

"Definitely jimmied," Mike said.

Leo nodded. "Where's Yukon?"

"In the house. Hear him barking?"

Sure enough, Yukon's loud barking was clearly heard from inside the house.

"Where's Julie?" Leo asked.

Julie was already across the street and walking up to them. "Do you know who it was?"

They turned around. "What did you see?" Mike asked.

"I saw a man in a black SUV park down the street. He walked up here with some sort of tool in his hand—I couldn't see what—and started messing with the door on the side of the house. Then I saw him run off to his car and speed away."

"What did he look like?"

"Tall, blondish hair…It was kinda long, unkempt, down to his shoulders."

"Dan had a black SUV before he went to jail," Piper noted. "Maybe a friend kept it for him, or…"

Julie had been the Wyatts' neighbor for three years. She knew what happened with Dan a year ago. "You don't think it was him, do you?"

Piper sighed. She looked down, then looked up at Julie. "Honestly, I do." She turned to Leo. "Yukon doesn't bark like that. I knew something was wrong. He was…growling and…barking and it sounded so…evil. Angry."

"Protective," Leo summed up.

Piper nodded.

* * *

They put a patrol car up to guard the house while Leo was at work. No black SUV with a blonde man inside parked on Willow Street without being checked out. For two tense weeks, Piper and Leo tried to get back to normal.

Then the letters came.

No return address, but they were addressed to Piper.

"What's that?" Leo asked one day about three weeks after the incident with the kitchen door.

Piper shrugged. She opened the letter and took out a piece of folded printer paper. She unfolded it and read the clear pen cursive. She didn't recognize it as she scanned over the letter, but when she started to read it, she knew exactly who it was. At the top of the letter read the words:

_Miss Halliwell_

That was what Dan would call her. That's what he called her. "Oh my God," Piper muttered.

"What is it?"

Piper read the letter over before reading it to Leo.

_Miss Halliwell,_

_So sorry I couldn't call. I hope you don't mind._

_I miss you. A lot. Every day. I remember us, what we were. I remember that night…Do you? I remember it every day, when I wake up, when I go to sleep. You're the first thing on my mind in the morning and the last thing on my mind at night. Don't you see, Miss Halliwell?_

_I love you._

_I've always loved you, I've just been afraid to tell you. Afraid of what you might say. Call me shy. I know you won't return my love. That's why I had to do what I did. I needed you to know. You _need _to know. You need to know that nothing—_nothing—_will stop us from being together._

_I _will _find you._

_Love Always.

* * *

_

"Maybe…Maybe you should go into Witness Protection," Adam suggested quietly later that night, after reading the letter. He, Leo, Leo's brothers, Rick, and Cortez had discussed earlier what to do, and now Leo and Adam were telling Piper.

"You're kidding, right?" Piper asked.

"Actually I don't think I've ever been more serious, as clichéd as that sounds..."

"Wha—What do you mean, Witness Protection?" Piper stuttered, looking back and forth from Adam sitting in front of her to Leo beside her.

"I mean we would temporarily move you out of the city, maybe out of the state, until we can arrest Dan for harassment, or if he actually makes contact with you—"

"_Excuse me_?"

Leo took Piper's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze to calm her down.

"_If_ he makes physical contact with you, we would be able to arrest him with a higher charge. If we couldn't arrest him right away—"

"What do you mean '_right away_'?"

"—we would have to move you out of the city, possibly out of the state."

"Out of the _state_?"

"Just temporarily."

"Oh. Well, then." Piper nodded sarcastically. She sat back in her chair and sighed. "Where would I go?"

"South to L.A., maybe north of here. A small town in Oregon, maybe."

"Oregon? Adam—"

"I'm sorry, Piper. You don't _have_ to go, but it is a precaution. At least until we can arrest Dan."

Piper winced at hearing his name. Leo ran his hand down her shoulder. She sighed, but firmly said, "No."

Adam shook his head. "No? Piper—"

"Sorry Adam. I can't do it. I can't run from him."

"Piper—" Leo started.

She turned to face him. "No, Leo! No! I'm _not_ running scared! I'm _not_ running away from him!"

Leo closed his eyes briefly. "You may not have a choice."


	18. Intruder

**Chapter 18 - Visitor**

Leo came home for lunch to a quiet house. He took his coat off and wandered through the living room to the bedroom he shared with Piper, looking for her. The bedroom door was closed, so he opened it quietly. He didn't want to scare her, in case she was in there. He walked through the bedroom to the bathroom door and listened. Piper was in there taking a bath, splashing a little in the water as she hummed something to herself. The bathroom door was cracked open so Leo knocked as he opened it.

Piper jumped when she saw Leo. She held a hand to her heart and took a deep breath. "Oh, God, you freaking scared me."

He smiled. "I knocked, didn't I?" He looked around and asked, "Bubble bath, huh?"

Piper was smiling, too. "Yeah. I figured I needed to relax."

"Yeah. No kidding." He glanced at the bubbles on the water, covering anything good. "You're lucky," he said.

She grinned. "_You_ are."

"Me?"

She splashed some water at him.

"Hey!"

She laughed and did it again.

"Oh, you are so in for it!" He bent down and scooped her up out of the water, getting his clothes soaked and spilling water all over the bathroom floor.

"Leo!" Piper cried. "What're you doing? I wasn't done!"

He carried her into the bedroom, set her on her own two feet, went back to grab a towel, and wrapped it around her. "You're done now."

She smiled sarcastically.

He moved her to stand at the foot of their bed, the towel still wrapped around her body, though it was slipping reasonably. When he had her standing where he wanted her, in his arms, he kissed her, doing his best to pour all of his love for her into it.

They just stood by the bed for a moment, kissing slowly, trying not to think about any of their problems. Then he pulled away and stared into her eyes.

"I love you, you know that."

She nodded. "I know." She wasn't smiling and neither was he.

His voice was somber but quiet. "I'm serious…" he told her. "I know you…refused…to take up Adam's offer…"

She opened her mouth to speak but he covered it with his own. When they pulled apart he spoke again. "I don't want this…situation…we're in…Not _this one_, but the…other one…"

She smiled.

"I don't want it to scare you. I don't want you to be scared…I don't want him to scare you."

She knew he was talking about Dan, and his worry made her smile. She kissed him once. "When I'm with you, I'm never afraid," she whispered.

That was all the answer he was looking for. They kissed again and the towel dropped to the floor.

* * *

No one heard from Dan for the next three weeks. Piper and Leo did their best not to think about him and no one ever brought up his name. Piper spent a lot of time at her sisters' houses and Leo put himself to work. It was a system that seemed to work for a while: They would leave the house together, get into separate cars, and go to work. Leo would come home long after Piper, usually by the time she was already asleep.

* * *

Leo and Cortez were sitting in the lounge at the police station. Leo was laughing and Cortez was trying to shut him up, which made him laugh harder. Cortez and his new wife had been fighting—a lot.

"You guys are just newlyweds, get over it," Leo was saying. "You will fight like hell for two years, trust me."

"Two years, really?"

Leo smiled. "Oh, that's right, you didn't know me and Piper back then. Ask my brothers or Adam. They'll tell you. Piper and I fought a lot for the first couple years of our marriage."

"Yeah but you guys were teenagers."

Leo nodded slowly. "Yeah, that didn't help…" They both laughed. "What's really fun is actually _trying_ to start a fight just to see if you can get to the make-up sex that night."

Cortez laughed.

"If she's still mad at you at night, then you're screwed, take a cold shower."

They were laughing when the door to the lounge opened and Piper and Phoebe appeared in the doorway. They went into the room, faces hard as rock.

"Piper? Phoebe?"

"Someone called the restaurant and used my information to cancel a band and my beer shipment, and fire the three new guys I just hired last week," Piper said, sounding angry and confused.

"What?"

Phoebe nodded. "The band was an hour late, so we called and they said they were cancelled."

"Who called?" Cortez asked.

"I don't know…" Piper shook her head. She looked down at the floor for a second, then up at Leo. "Dan?" she suggested.

He shook his head. "I doubt it. Why would he risk it?"

"Well I _don't_ doubt it."

"We haven't heard from him in more than a month."

"I know, but Leo…He wants me, and if he can't have me alive he'll have me dead. You heard what he said when you arrested him all that time ago. And that message, and the letter…"

Leo sighed. He'd been living on the false hope that Dan might be gone for good. "You want me to check it out?"

She nodded. "Please."

"Okay. We'll see if we can trace the call made to the band."

* * *

As it turned out, they _could_ trace it, and they did. To a payphone. It was near the apartment Dan had, but when they checked _that _out, they found that no one had seen Dan since he first disappeared.

"It's like he's hidden in the walls," Mike said as he and Leo checked out Dan's apartment, looking for signs of life. The place was fairly empty, with just a few boxes pushed up against bare walls.

"That's what he does. He hides like a coward and strikes like a terrorist. Then he hides again."

"So what are you saying? He's going to strike?"

"I don't know. But I do know that Piper's not going anywhere without an officer, that's for sure."

Then Mike asked a question he had been harboring for some time. "Why Piper?"

"Because Dan hates me. He hates me and he loves her. He wants to get back at me for putting him in jail…and he wants Piper for himself."

* * *

Piper wasn't trying as hard as she was before to be strong. She knew there was a problem, and she had a horrible feeling that something very bad was going to happen. Cortez had been the one escorting her, which was good because she felt more comfortable around him than if it were an officer she didn't know following her around everywhere. It wasn't too awkward, despite the situation and the reasons he was there.

Then when Piper went home, some things changed. She'd been in the squad car riding with Cortez, and when she got out, she immediately noticed something was wrong. Very wrong.

The front door was open.

And Yukon came running from around the corner down the street. He hid behind the squad car. If Yukon was hiding, something wasn't right inside. And Leo wasn't home, so why was the door open?

"Cortez."

He noticed, too, and went ahead of Piper into the house, but as he checked the kitchen, Piper rounded the corner to the living room. She looked up and stopped dead in her tracks.

Dan was standing in her living room, arms open wide, a gun in his right hand. "Well it's about time. I've been waiting for you to come home for two hours." He had put on muscle since he went to prison, something his jacket couldn't hide. His hair was longer, shoulder-length, and a bit tangled. There was a visible stubble around his jaw line and cheek bones. He did look different, but to Piper the sight of him and the fear he instilled in her had not changed.

Cortez came up from behind Piper, gun ready. He pulled Piper by her arm to stand her behind him. "Put the gun down, Dan!"

"Okay." Dan started to drop the gun but shot it instead. The bullet went straight into Cortez and embedded itself in his chest. He fell back and hit the ground.

"Consider this a taste of what's to come. I'll be back for _you_ later," Dan said to Piper. For one perilous moment, his gun was aimed at her, but she was kneeling beside Cortez, too shocked to notice anything. Dan turned and went out the backdoor, but not before winking at her.

Piper was hardly paying attention. She was terrified and trying to keep Cortez awake. She ran to the phone and called an ambulance.

* * *

Leo, Mike, and others from the 12th Precinct were surrounding the house. Cortez was unconscious and on a stretcher, being lifted into an ambulance. It was getting dark outside, but only twenty minutes had passed since Dan ran from the house. As soon as the ambulance had showed up, Piper started shaking uncontrollably. She was suddenly freezing, but she had a fever and a horrible headache. The medics in the ambulance had said she maybe have just had a cold but the shock and stress got to her and her temperature rose.

Now she was standing with a dark gray blanket from the ambulance wrapped around her shoulders, and she was leaning with her back against Leo's chest. He'd done all he could do for Cortez, put up the police line, held civilians back, and answered endless reporters' questions. For now he just wanted to hold Piper, and that was what he was doing. He rested his forehead on her shoulder and sighed deeply.

"He'll be okay, right?" Piper asked.

Leo nodded. "Yeah…He'll be okay…"

"You don't know for sure, do you?"

"…No, I don't."


	19. Night at the Station

**Chapter 19 - Night at the Station**

When everything was taken care of, Piper and Leo went to the hospital in the squad car, with the lights and siren on the whole way. They got to the hospital and Adam and Rebecca, Cortez's wife, were already there in the waiting room on the fifth floor, awaiting a doctor to come out.

"How is he?" was the first thing out of Leo's mouth. Piper had taken the police car to park it, and Leo had jumped out and gone straight into the hospital.

"I don't know, no one's told us anything," Rebecca said, her voice choking. She was trying to stay strong but it wasn't really working out.

Piper came running, out of breath and panting. "The elevator line was too long so I took the stairs," she explained. "Is he okay?"

Adam shrugged. "He's in the OR."

"He was unconscious when they took him away," Piper said.

Rebecca turned to Piper. "What _happened_?"

Piper closed her eyes and relived the moments inside her head. "He was escorting me to watch for Dan. We'd just been out at the restaurant, taking inventory, and we were going back to my house for lunch. The front door was open and my dog came running from around the corner, down the street. He was scared…We knew something was wrong so Cortez went in first, and when he was checking the kitchen I looked in the living room…and…Dan was there. He said something and Cortez told him to drop the gun. Dan shot him, said he'd be back for me, and took off. I can't believe he didn't take me, too or…God, I can't believe he shot him…" She shook her head. "He saved my life. Dan would have either killed me on the spot or kidnapped me if Cortez wasn't there."

Rebecca nodded, and embraced Piper briefly.

Piper looked up at Leo. "I'm sure he'll be fine," she said, knowing how scared her husband was.

He only nodded so she took his hand.

A doctor came out ten minutes later. They were all sitting down and stood up quickly as soon as the doctor came out.

"How is he? Is he okay?" Rebecca asked immediately.

"The bullet missed his heart and lungs. There was some tissue damage and internal bleeding that we repaired. He's unconscious but he should be waking up in a few minutes. We've got him in recovery, but he'll be moved to a private room as soon as he wakes," the doctor informed them.

Rebecca nodded. "When can we see him?"

"We'll let you know."

The doctor left and Rebecca sat down. Adam sat beside her. Leo didn't sit down, and Piper stood beside him with her arm around him to keep his legs from giving out.

"See? He'll be fine," Piper said optimistically, speaking to no one in particular.

No response.

"Dan'll go to prison for life if Cortez dies."

"Oh, Leo…" Piper shook her head, rubbing her husband's back and shoulders. "He'll be fine," she repeated.

"We'll find Dan," he said, nodding to himself. "I'll find him, I swear."

"You know Dan, Leo. He'll go into hiding again. Then he'll pop out, strike, and go back under."

"Like a snake," Adam muttered.

Piper turned to him. "Yeah. Like a snake."

* * *

After seeing Cortez awake and talking to him a while, Adam left, with Piper and Leo leaving soon after. Piper couldn't stop apologizing and thanking Cortez, both because she felt guilty Cortez was there, and grateful at the same time. Rebecca stayed late, until she was forced to go home. It was confirmed that Cortez would be fine, and Dan would not.

Piper and Leo's house was a crime scene. They wouldn't be able to go home. They were, however, able to get some extra clothes and get Yukon. They put the dog in the car and went back to the police station. Yukon was put in a kennel where the five police dogs were kept.

"I don't get why you wouldn't rather stay at one of your sisters' houses…" Leo was saying as he and Piper sat in the lounge, downing coffees to stay awake.

"I'm afraid that Dan would find out and come after them," Piper said.

He nodded. "I know, but staying at the station all night is anything but fun."

"Since when was any of this fun?"

Leo was silent. For a moment neither of them spoke, then he said, "Lounge or office?" and took another drink.

"Huh?"

"Sleeping. Office or lounge? I recommend the lounge. Bigger couch."

Piper nodded. "Here's good."

They'd decided to stay at the station for the night, or at least until the house was cleaned. Detectives, including Ron and his partner Jenny, were checking the house for the way that Dan got in and out, and for any other evidence they could gather against him. There were also workers there cleaning Cortez's blood from the living room carpet.

"Good."

Soon after she finished her coffee, Piper decided to lay down. She wasn't sure if she could sleep, she was too scared and nervous. She lay down on the long leather couch and curled up with a blanket she'd found in the lounge closet. It was a wide couch, too, big enough for two, which made Piper wonder a little bit.

She settled down into the couch and put her head on a pillow she'd also found in the closet. Then she stared at Leo, who was reading a memo on the fridge. He soon turned and caught her eye.

"What?" he asked after a moment.

She smiled. "This is strange."

"I know. But a lot of the things we do are strange."

She nodded her agreement. He moved over to her and knelt in front of her beside the couch, stroking her hair with one hand and staring straight into her eyes. They were silent for a moment. Then she whispered, "You are so perfect."

He smiled. "We've never done it at the station."

She laughed out loud. "And you're crazy. No." She rolled over with her back to him. Very slowly, he turned her back over to face him. For a few seconds they just stared at each other. "I love you," she said.

He kissed her softly. When he pulled away he gave her a small smile. "I love you, too."

* * *

Piper did manage to sleep that night, even though she thought she wouldn't be able to. On the other hand, Leo couldn't even yawn. He watched Piper sleep for a long time and then got up and walked around the station. There were only a few night shift officers in the lobby, but other than that no one was around, and the halls and rooms were a little creepier at night.

He went back to the lounge and sat in a chair at one of the two tables. He couldn't take his eyes off of Piper. He felt that if he looked away she would be gone when he looked back. Watching her sleep was always something he liked to do, but now if felt like a job, but not one that he didn't enjoy.

She woke at six in the morning when some people were showing up for the day shift. Adam and Jamie and Leo's dad were there, along with a few other officers. She looked up at the table where Leo was sitting. He was awake. She smiled.

"I had a good dream," she told him. "One where none of this ever happened."

He stared at her and said nothing. He'd had that same dream many times.

"Did you sleep?" she asked.

"No."

"Leo…" Piper sat up and walked over to him, bringing the rather small blanket with her. She wrapped it around her shoulders and stood behind him. "You should sleep now, then." She leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder.

He shook his head. "No, I gotta work."

"No you don't."

"With Cortez in the hospital, I'll need to help pick up the slack."

She looked up. "Slack? Leo, I'm asking for you to take off work for one day, just one day."

"I can't. Mike and I have to take the double shift."

"Leo, please." She stood up and sat across from him.

"Piper, I can't."

They were in a stare down for a moment, one that Piper lost. She turned her head, knowing she'd only lost because Leo played the staring game with witnesses and stubborn criminals daily.

"Fine," she muttered, looking away.

"Piper…" He reached across the table. She wasn't looking at him, but let him take her hand in his. "You know if I could…"

She nodded. "I know…But you have to work. It's fine…I'll uh, go to Phoebe's house or something…"

"Okay."

"What, you're not going to try to stop me? Grab my hand and make me stay?"

He shook his head. "Nope."

She smiled. He stood up and started for the door. "Leo?"

He stopped in front of the door. His back was to hers.

"Why didn't Dan take me?" she asked quietly.

He took a deep breath before turning around. He moved up to kneel beside her. She was staring straight ahead, not daring to look at him just yet. "I don't know. Maybe he was scared."

She barely nodded. "Maybe not. Maybe he's got other plans. Maybe he'll be back. And maybe then he won't leave me behind."

"Don't talk like that."

"Why not?" She turned to look at him. "Why not talk like that, if it might be true?" Her voice was cold and scared.

"Because it's not true, and it won't happen."

"How do you know?"

He went to her and pulled her up to her feet. She looked down and didn't make eye contact with him. He locked his arms around her waist and stared down at her. She still didn't look up at him, so he used one hand to lift her chin up.

"I have a feeling," he whispered.

She almost smiled. He'd made her feel a lot better, so she let him kiss her.

* * *

"So now I don't know, Prue…I'm terrified beyond all reasoning…"

"And you have every right to be."

"…But then Leo comes in…and he tells me that everything is going to be okay…and I can't help but believe him."

"You should believe him. He's right, everything will be okay."

Piper smiled. "See, it's different coming from you. I don't believe _you_."

Prue smiled, too. "Whatever."

The sisters had hooked up for lunch and they were going to meet with Phoebe at her house later. Piper had wanted to avoid conversation about Dan, but it seemed inevitable. There was no way they _weren't_ going to talk about him.

"When are you able to go back into the house?"

Piper shrugged. "Tomorrow, I think."

"Another night at the station then?"

Piper sighed. "Yeah, looks like it."

"How is it, sleeping there?"

Piper shrugged again and smiled a little bit. "It's…weird. I slept in the lounge, on the couch."

"And where did Leo sleep?" Prue teased.

"Oh God, you too? He already tried that with me, I said no."

"Why? It might be interesting to try it in the station. I swear, it's like you've never have sex anywhere but _in the house_, _in the bedroom_ anymore," Prue teased, making a point on her last words. "I mean, we haven't heard any good stories lately."

Piper raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Well if you've been a little crazy I hardly hear about it anymore."

"You should go into the station in the morning…Leo's in there bragging like crazy. Every man in that station is jealous of him and has fantasies with me in them."

"So?"

The sisters stared at each other for a moment, Piper looking confused and Prue smiling. "You are so strange."

"Thanks. But seriously, you should have some fun with staying at the station, no matter the circumstances. Be crazy."

"Already done that."

"Whatever." Prue looked away and took a sip of her coffee. They were sitting in an outdoor restaurant, watching the people go by.

"Besides," Piper said, leaning in, "I was married at seventeen. You think I haven't done anything crazy? We covered every place we could think of."

Prue's eyes were curious. "…School?"

Piper gave a smug smile. "You name it, we did it."

"…Locker room."

Piper nodded.

Prue started to have some fun with the new game. "Backstage in the gym?"

Another nod.

"Home Ec room."

"The upstairs one or downstairs?"

"Both."

"Upstairs one is gross, there're too many other people who did too many weird things there. But the downstairs one was nice."

Prue laughed out loud. "What about at home, when Dad was home?"

"Oh, God, Prue, now you're pushing it. Not when Dad was home…"

They both laughed. Phoebe ran up and slid into a seat at their outdoor table.

"Phoebe! Whatcha doin' here?"

Phoebe smiled and took a deep breath. "I saw you from across the street and figured I should stop by. Why didn't you call and say something? I could have gotten time off work."

"We didn't want to bother you, we just figured we'd meet you at your house later," Piper said.

Phoebe nodded. "Still…Whatcha talkin' about?"

"Piper's wild adventures."

"…Huh?" The two older Halliwell sisters laughed at Phoebe's confusion. "Okay, did I miss something here?"

"Never mind."

"Okay good, because I wanted you to know…"

"What?"

Phoebe sighed. "I'm scared."

Piper sat back in her chair and heaved a deep sigh. "You're talking about Dan," she guessed.

Phoebe nodded. "I am. I'm scared for you, Piper. I mean, Dan was _in your house_. He could have killed you right then and there. But he didn't. Now what makes you think he won't come again? Or maybe he'll go back for you? How do you know he won't come back?"

Piper was silent. Prue shot Phoebe a warning glance.

"Look, Piper, I know you don't want to hear any of this, but it's all true," Phoebe concluded, putting her hand on top of Piper's.

The middle Halliwell sister nodded. "I know," she started. "All of that is true and I have to learn to deal with it…But I'm not going to go into hiding to get away from him. I don't think he's dumb enough to come back to the house. Everyone's out looking for him. It's personal for the officers, they have more incentive."

"When wasn't it personal, Piper? He wants you dead."

"It—It was always personal…But now they _have_ to find him. Legally, I mean. You know what I mean. Dan shot a cop, now he's going to be found."

* * *

Piper and Leo were let back into their house, not long after being told that Cortez would be out of the hospital in two weeks. The couple got their dog and extra clothes and went back home. Piper walked through the foyer into the kitchen and turned to stare into the living room. She couldn't make herself go in. It was the same as when Dan attacked a year ago. She couldn't go into her own bedroom for weeks. But she had to go through the living room to get to anywhere else in the house. She just couldn't make her legs work.

She looked down.

Her foot lifted seemingly on its own and her breath was caught in her throat. She was standing where Cortez fell. Suddenly her vision blurred and she was hearing shots in her mind, and she was reliving the past, not a memory from five days ago but a memory from five years ago.

_She ran into the ER with her older sister, went straight up to the front desk, and grabbed the first nurse she saw. "Leo Wyatt. He's a police officer, he was brought in a few minutes ago. Where is he?" she demanded._

_The stunned nurse blinked a few times. "He's been taken up to the OR."_

_"Where is that?"_

_The nurse pointed up. "Two floors up."_

_Piper ran off down the hall to an elevator with Prue. They waited impatiently for the doors to open. Then when they did open, ten people piled out and seven more shuffled in. "This is taking too long," Piper said, and she and her sister ran for the stairs._

_They got to the OR and found the doctors operating on Leo. The doors were closed but Prue and Piper could see through the glass window. Tears were already creeping from Piper's eyes as Prue hugged her and helped her stand. They looked up when Phoebe and their dad came running down the hall. They hardly said any words to each other but looked straight through the window and watched the doctors._

_Piper's eyes were glued to the machine that they could faintly hear beeping coming from. It was beeping out Leo's heart rate, and it was beeping fast. Too fast._

_Then it stopped._

_The line went flat. The doctors started moving faster, trying to revive him. They shocked him once, twice. Piper thought she was going to faint. Her legs were giving out from under her and the tears were flowing freely. Prue and Phoebe were holding her up and hugging her. Victor was standing against the wall, stone-faced, his eyes on his daughter._

_Piper felt she was going to be sick. She felt she was going to faint. She felt she was going to die. She took a deep breath and found it hard to breathe. She started to black out, and reached for one of her sisters to hold her up._

_Then the machine was beeping again. It was still a little irregular, but at least it was beeping._

_Barely._

Piper struggled for breath as she came to, and groped the air for something to hold. She felt arms around her, pulling her back to the kitchen, away from the living room. She was leaning against the kitchen island now, crying and breathing heavily. She opened her eyes to see Leo's face level with hers. His hands were pushing her hair from her face and out of her eyes.

"Shh, Piper, it's okay," he was telling her, trying to calm her down.

She shook her head. "No! It's not okay, I—"

"Shh, it's okay. Going into a room that something traumatic happened in can trigger memories—"

Piper struggled away. "Don't treat me like another case, Leo! I don't need to hear it! I wasn't seeing Cortez getting shot! I was seeing _you_ from five years ago, and you were laying on the operating table with no heartbeat and no pulse! That was what I was seeing!"

He was confused. He understood what she saw in her mind, but he wasn't quite sure why. "Why did you—"

"Because I'm _scared_, Leo! I'm terrified that that's going to happen again! Maybe to you, maybe to me, or to my sisters or—"

He took her hands in his. "Nothing is going to happen."

"You don't know that!" she yelled, backing away until she hit the island again.

"Yes I do. I know nothing is going to happen. Not to you, not to me, and not to your sisters."

She shook her head.

"We've been through this enough times. How can I convince you?"

She looked up slowly. "Get rid of Dan."

"That's what we're working on."

She shook her head again and took a deep breath in to calm herself. Her eyes met her husband's. There was no mistaking the seriousness in her voice, mixed with the ever-present fear.

"Kill him."


	20. Up in Flames

**I want this chapter to be powerful so I won't say much and take up space. Just a quick but sincere thank you to everyone who reviewed. Thanks for still reading! Now please don't hate me after this chapter, and please, please, please review! Just know that none of this is personal!

* * *

**

**Chapter 20 - Up in Flames**

"How's Piper?" Ron asked the next day as he passed his brother in the lounge at the station.

Leo shrugged. "Mixed up, I guess."

"Did she sleep?"

"No."

"…Did you?"

"She's scared," Leo said instead of answering his brother.

Ron sighed. "I know. We all are."

"No, I mean she's _really_ _scared_. She could barely go through the house yesterday. She took one step into the living room and stopped dead in her tracks."

"Sometimes it's hard to go into a room where a crime was committed, especially if you know the person who was hurt."

Leo shook his head. "That wasn't what scared her so much."

"What do you mean?" Ron asked as he and Leo left the lounge. They walked down the hallway to the right toward the locker room.

"She's scared for me." Leo pushed open the door to the locker room. They went to their separate lockers and opened them.

"Well I can see that…" Ron was saying.

"She's—" Leo pulled his shirt off and reached into the locker for a different one. "She's scared that something bad is going to happen again…She said she was scared that if I found Dan, he would do something drastic."

"Like…"

"Like try to kill me," Leo said as he put the shirt on.

"What else is new?"

He almost laughed. "She's also scared that something will happen to her or her sisters…Or you guys…I don't know, she's just terrified."

"I think that's to be expected."

Leo sighed. "…When she stepped into the living room, she had this flashback, and when she came out of it, she was crying and she looked like she was going to pass out."

"Cortez?"

"Me."

"What?" Ron closed his locker.

Leo put on his police jacket. "She had a flashback of when I was shot."

"A few months ago?"

"Five years ago." Leo closed his locker.

Ron didn't say anything for a moment. They left the locker room and headed down the hall, past the lounge, and into the main room.

"Morning, Boys," was Amy's greeting.

Leo said nothing. Ron barely said hello.

"What's with you?"

Leo walked away to find Mike. Ron stayed back and looked at Amy. "It's Piper," he told her.

"Is something wrong?"

"Everything's wrong."

* * *

The next day, Saturday, Piper didn't leave the house. She didn't want to, and Leo didn't make her. Normally he would have gone to work for a few hours, but Piper hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. When she went to bed, she was wracked with nightmares, reminders that Dan was just oh-so-close to her.So Leo stuck with her that day.

"I hate this," she said at some point in the afternoon.

"I know," was his automatic response.

She shook her head. "No, Leo, no you don't. I hate being afraid and—and waiting. That's what I feel like I'm doing." She hung her head a little bit and spoke to her feet. "I feel like I'm just waiting for him to come get me."

Upon hearing this, Leo's heart broke. The strength in Piper's voice was drained and her usually bright smile was dulled. At that moment he knew she'd given up hope. "Don't say that," he told her as he moved up to her and took her into his arms. "Don't ever say that."

"Why shouldn't I?" she muttered.

He held her tighter and kissed the top of her head. "Because."

He felt her laugh more than he heard it. "That's not an answer."

"Well…Then…Because…Okay." He backed up a bit and looked down at her. He lifted her chin gently to look into her eyes. "Because your hope…gives me hope. If you give up hope then I'll give up hope, and who will help us if we're out of hope?"

She smiled. "Hope." Her eyes closed and she sighed softly. "It doesn't even sound like a word anymore."

**

* * *

**

They tried as hard as they could to let life go back to normal. Dan was unheard from in a few weeks, and soon Cortez was able to get back to work. The usual party was thrown at Hell's Haven,and Piper and Leo only really went to get their minds off of their troubles. And boy, did they have troubles.

The day after the Hell's Haven party, Leo stayed home with Piper. They didn't talk muchfor themajority of theday, and they didn't move around much either, just sat on the couch together or found some other place to lay. Piper ended up on the floor at some point, just staring up at the ceiling with Leo asleep on the couch with the dog. She fell asleep sometime later and when she woke up it was starting to get dark outside and her neck and back hurt. She sat up and groaned. "Remind me never to sleep on the floor again…" she muttered to no one in particular. That's when she noticed an arm draped across her legs. She looked down to see Leo lying on the floor beside her with his head near her thigh. Yukon was still on the couch but he was sliding off and his head and front paws were on Leo's back.

Piper smiled. This was good. This was natural. This was how it was supposed to be.

But it wasn't like that.

It wouldn't be…Not until Dan was dead.

For a while Piper just looked at her two roommates—her husband and her dog—and watched them sleep. Once in a while Yukon twitched and he whimpered as his paws started to move as if he were running. Leo, on the other hand, was a rock. He had barely moved and it had caused Piper to check for his pulse to see if he was still breathing.

When they finally stirred, Piper was up and moving around a little. She was in the kitchen reading a recipe book. Well, she was looking at the pictures at least. Leo wandered in and she looked up. "Hey."

"Hey…When did you get up?"

"Right between the shoulder pain and the neck cramp." She put the book down. "How'd you end up on the floor?"

"Same way Yukon did; I slid…and kinda fell."

Piper smiled. I think I'm gonna go over to Prue's for a bit…Phoebe's over there and we're just gonna hang out for a while…"

"Okay. Want a ride?"

"Naw…I'll just take my car."

Leo nodded. "Okay."

Piper walked up to him and gave him a quick kiss. "I was thinking…about hope…I like it."

"Oh yeah?"

She smiled. "Yeah. It's kinda nice, hope is."

"And love," he added.

She smiled again, a real smile. "Yes…Love is good." She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him again, slower this time with a little more of the love that he'd been hinting at. "I love you."

"I love you." He repeated the words without hesitation and knew they'd never lost any meaning over the years. "I love you so much…"

She smiled once again but he noticed her tired eyes and pulled her to him. "That's good…I like to hear it, you know, now and then…" She kissed him again. "I'll see you later tonight." She started for the door with one arm in her coat.

"I love you," he said again as she walked out the kitchen door.

She turned with her hand on the doorknob to close the door behind her. She tried her best to smile again but she just couldn't quite make it. "Thank you." She motioned for him to come to her, and he did so that she could kiss him one more time. She seemed so sad, he could tell by every move she made and even in the way she kissed him. "I love you."

* * *

Hours later, when Piper checked the clock and realized it was almost midnight, she decided it was best to gone home. Halfway back from Prue's house, her cell phone rang. She dug through her purse with one hand and grabbed her cell. _Unknown Number_, it read on the screen. Her breath got caught up in her throat and a pang of fear twisted itself up in her stomach, but she pressed the talk button and put the phone up to her ear. She knew who it was even before he spoke.Hours later, when Piper checked the clock and realized it was almost midnight, she decided it was best to gone home. Halfway back from Prue's house, her cell phone rang. She dug through her purse with one hand and grabbed her cell. , it read on the screen. Her breath got caught up in her throat and a pang of fear twisted itself up in her stomach, but she pressed the talk button and put the phone up to her ear. She knew who it was even before he spoke. 

"Miss Halliwell…"

Her voice was shaky, it matched the rest of her body. "Why can't you leave me alone?" she asked weakly. She was already ready to cry.

"I thought we were having fun."

"We're going to find you. You know that? They're gonna find you and take you in and you're going back to prison."

Dan Gordon laughed. "Miss Halliwell, I thought what we had was real here…"

"I'm married, stop calling me that."

"Well I don't like to think about your husband all too much…" He laughed to himself, and to Piper it was one of the most disgusting, evil sounds she'd ever heard in her life.

"Please…" A silent tear ran down her cheek. "Just go away."

"But I've just begun having fun with you…"

"I'm not having fun."

"Too bad, then…Guess what I know? I know that you haven't been telling your little husband about how…often…we chat."

She started to shake even more.

"You don't _get_ it, Piper…I _want_ them to find me. And I told you to tell them about how much we talk…and I told you to tell your husband about when I visited you last week. Why didn't you tell them? Why don't you get some help?"

"You'll…You'll set a trap…You'll hurt him."

"…Do you remember our deal?"

Her head shook but she managed a nod.

"I'll take your silence as a no. Don't you remember, Miss Halliwell?" His words were slow and precise, planned, almost scripted. His tone terrified her beyond reasoning. "The last time we talked…I asked if you would tell him about…us. You said no, and remember? I asked you a question. Do you remember the question?"

At this point the tears were flowing freely and she was biting her lip so hard that it bled. She couldn't stop shaking. "Y—You—"

"I'll re-ask it then…I know you know I would have something set up for your husband and his friends when they found me…The question is…Is your husband's welfare more important than yours? Remember, Miss Halliwell? Do you remember what I told you would happen to you if you refused to comply?"

She nodded again. "Please…"

"No breaking deals."

"No, please…"

"You made the deal. Your husband's life or your own. Make a choice." His voice was hard now. Demanding.

Her head shook again. "I can't…" She barely heard her own voice. "Please don't hurt him…"

A sigh came from the other line. "Have it your way…It's a shame though, because I almost liked you better…Oh well."

She tried again. "Please…"

"It's a shame, too. You should have realized I'd put it in the car. Not thinking straight, were we now? Like I said…a shame. Anyway…Tick tock. Want to count down with me?"

She had no answer, just tears. _Please…Please, no…_

"Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three—"

From Dan's end of the line, he heard a deafening explosion and the line went dead. He glanced at his phone. "Damn. I was off a few seconds."

* * *

Ten minutes later, back at the station, a large commotion broke out. A desperate call for help was coming over the CB radio. Everyone was crowded around Amy's desk, leaning against it or sitting on it, listening intently to the panicked call. The voice was from Cortez, who had come across a horrible car accident.

"It's big—it's—Oh, God, what the hell? God, another car just caught fire—" Cortez's voice was cut off.

Everyone around the desk leaned closer. They heard a loud explosion from the other end of the radio, then more yelling in the background of firefighters and officers. They could hear sirens wailing and cars honking.

Amy pressed the _Out_ button on the CB and spoke into it. "Cortez, you there? What happened?" Static answered her. "Cortez?"

"_Fuck!_ Oh, it just exploded! Oh God, we need backup down here, _now!_"

"Don't worry, Cortez, we're getting backup coming."

"There's flames everywhere and—Oh. Oh, oh my God...Is that...No, it—It can't be..."

Amy held down the _Out_ button again, slowly. "...Yeah, Cortez...The fire department called in to confirm, and we checked it out..."

"Oh God...Does Leo—"

"He doesn't know."

"Oh God..._Fuck!_...Oh, fuck!...I have to go keep Leo away from here."

"He's on rounds."

"Good. Amy I need backup—seriously. There's so goddamn much traffic out here..." Cortez trailed off. "Shit, shit, shit..." he muttered. "This is not good..." His voice was panicked, his head was spinning. He was barely still standing.

"We'll get some people out there."

"I gotta go." There was another string of foul words following the short phrase, then a click signaling that Cortez was off the line.

Amy looked up. Everyone was very quiet. No one moved, no one wanted to. They tried to process what was happening, with no luck. Everyone had horrible headaches and stomachaches, everyone wanted to throw up and die at the same time. No one wanted to go out there and help. It was Adam who stood up and reanimated the officers around him.

"All right, you heard the man! He needs help out there! Get going!" A few people scrambled up and ran out the door. Leo's two brothers were two of them, as well as Ron's partner Jenny. "I'll stay and wait in case Leo comes back here," Adam said of himself. He leaned against Amy's desk, looking at the keyboard of her computer just as she was. They didn't dare make eye contact, for fear of each seeing the other on the verge of breaking down to tears. "What now?"

Amy sighed and flopped down into her chair. "What do we tell Leo?"

Adam shrugged lightly. "The truth, I suppose...Unless he finds out for himself..."

* * *

It wasn't a busy night. After Piper had left, Leo decided to go in to the station and put in a few hours. He and Mike checked all the hot spots for drug dealers and hookers, but not many people were outside on this particular Friday night. Prostitutes and drug dealers didn't normally do business in weather like this. It looked like it was about to rain. There was a 70 chance of rain, and the sky was turning red with late-night rain clouds. The streets were relatively empty and there were few cars.

As they were turning down Jefferson Street, five police cars sped around the corner toward them and flew down the street, lights flashing and sirens wailing. Leo grabbed the CB radio. "This is Car 18 calling Dispatch. Come in."

There was a short pause, followed by a second or two of static. Amy's voice came over the receiver. "Hey, Wy—" She sounded out of breath.

"What the hell just flew outta here?"

"Nu—Nothing. Are you coming to the station?"

"Later, I was actually gonna go take Mike home. His car's in the shop so I'm gonna take him across town—"

"Across town? As in taking the highway? Why don't you take the back roads? I hear they're fun at night. Or just come into the station. Please."

"...Amy what's wrong?" He was getting suspicious. What was going on? "Did something happen?"

"Just come into the station?"

"I will after I get Mike home. I'm out, Amy." Leo hung up the radio and glanced at his partner, who shrugged.

"Sounds like a surprise party."

They turned around in a parking lot and headed down a major parkway until they hit the highway, and turned off onto I-95. Five minutes later they hit a traffic jam. As far as they could see, both directions of traffic were backed up a couple of miles, and they started to get curious as they reached the twenty-minute mark of sitting in the squad car doing nothing. "I wonder what happened up there. Let's go see..." Leo maneuvered the car to the side of the road and drove in the median with his police lights flashing until they reached the cause of the traffic jam.

What they saw they couldn't have imagined. There was an insanely horrible car accident before them. It was dark outside but easy to see from all of the car headlights and flashing lights on squad cars and fire trucks. One car was in the middle of the road and was sitting on its roof. It was literally up in flames. Another car was on its side on the side of the median of the highway. It was burning and firefighters were struggling to put it out. A third car lay just touching the second. It wasn't on fire but it was smashed beyond repair. The noise of the flames could be heard and the siren noises were almost unbearable. The flashing lights were already giving everyone within earshot headaches.

"What the hell..." Leo muttered. He checked the clock. 12:30AM. He parked a ways away from the accident and turned off the car. He and Mike both stepped out of the squad car. They watched as a tow truck backed in to take away the smashed car. Leo glanced up at the sky. It was taking on more of an eerie reddish glow now. The rain was bound to come. They headed for the accident to see what they could do to help.

Cortez came seemingly from nowhere, making a beeline for them. He ran straight into Leo and pushed him back. "Leo, go! You have to leave!" A flash of lightning lit up the sky for a split second, then everything turned back to the strobe light-like flashes of cars and fire.

"Looks like you need some help here—" Leo tried to push past his friend.

"Leo, no!" The weather was in Cortez's favor; another flash of lightning illuminated the sky, and as the thunder boomed all around them, a thick sheet of rain came down on the highway and everyone on it. A quarter mile away, they heard firefighters cheering as they got some natural assistance with putting out the burning cars. Cortez took that time to shout into his radio, "Where the hell is my backup!" A fuzzy answer came through, and he held the receiver to his ear, but he couldn't understand the voice. When he looked up, Leo was running toward the scene of the accident. Cortez ran to catch him. Mike was forgotten. "Leo, you can't go up there!" Cortez yelled as he caught his friend and grabbed his shoulders.

"Why the hell not? What the hell is going on?"

"...Be—"

A firefighter from the scene of the accident ran up to them. "We can't get her out. The fire's too strong."

Cortez groaned. _Bad, bad timing..._

The firefighter looked at Leo, who was concentrating on trying to recognize the man through all of the protective gear he was wearing. Unfortunately all he could see was his own reflection in the black mask on the man's helmet. The firefighter put his hand on Leo's shoulder. _Okay..._Leo was confused, not stupid. He knew that move was sympathetic. The firefighter stared at him for a few more seconds, then turned and ran through the rain back to the burning car.

"What the fuck was that?"

Lightning cracked above them.

Cortez searched for the words to say what he had to say. "He, uh..." He glanced nervously from Leo to Mike, who had caught up to them. "He..."

Leo turned back toward the accident. Cortez was acting strange, he decided as he headed in the direction of the burning car. Firefighters and police officers were everywhere, like ants when you poured water over their hill. Each time one of the men and women looked up, though, time seemed to come to a standstill and the person would stop what they were doing to stare at him a few second. It made him nervous.

Mike caught up to him. "What's going on?" he asked, noticing the glances as well.

"I'm...not sure..." Leo had stopped walking. He was watching the flames of the burning vehicle as if in a trance. He was close enough to feel the heat from the flames. Through the hot glow of the blazing fire, something about that flipped SUV seemed too familiar to him...Almost like—

It clicked.

Leo turned to face Cortez, who was standing about twenty feet away. The rain was blocking his image a little. The light from the flashing vehicles allowed Leo to see his friend's sympathetic face...and he knew. He knew, but he refused to believe. It couldn't be true—it _wasn't_ true. He ran toward Cortez. "Whose car is that?" he yelled over the noises around them. "Whose car, Cortez?"

Cortez just shook his head.

"_Whose car!_" Leo demanded. When Cortez didn't answer and his eyes filled with sympathy and hurt, Leo shook his head. "It's not her car...Damn it, Cortez, is that Piper's car?" he yelled, afraid of an answer but demanding one anyway.

Silence from Cortez.

Leo took a step forward and put it hands on Cortez's shoulders. "Tell me! Is that Piper's car?...Cortez, please tell me that's not Piper's car!"

Cortez said some words quietly as more lightning flashed around them and thunder boomed. Leo didn't hear.

But he wasn't stupid.

He knew what Cortez said.


	21. Breathe

**Chapter 21 - Breathe**

The first thing he noticed was that he couldn't breathe. His legs were giving out beneath him. He felt as if he'd been nailed right in the chest by a shotgun. He stumbled backward, stared into the flames of the burning car. Everything was dead silent in his mind, he couldn't hear the sirens or the people or the roar of flames. The silence was followed by a blackout. For a moment he lost all contact with reality. He was numb.

It couldn't be true.

It wasn't. There was no way. There was just no way.

"Leo?" a voice was yelling at him. "Leo!" Suddenly reality slapped him hard across the face, and his vision and the blaring noises around them came crashing down on him. It was overwhelming. "Leo, I—Leo!"

He hit the ground.

* * *

Moments later, Leo came to. He was in the back of an ambulance, and a paramedic was telling him to take it easy and calm down. He'd passed out. He looked around him. His was the only ambulance of three that wasn't treating someone. That meant it was the ambulance that was supposed to be carrying Piper—his Piper—away to the hospital for treatment.

Piper.

Leo's eyes shot up to see his dad and Cortez standing above him. Jake and Ron were close by. His father's hand was on his knee, calming, sympathetic. Leo looked up into the man's eyes and saw tears. He knew now it had to be true. That car in the fire was Piper's. That meant—

No.

No, no, no.

She wasn't dead. There was no way.

Suddenly Leo was choking again, this time on air that he was refusing to breathe in. His throat was constricted and a horrible pain had sliced through his stomach at the realization at what had happened. Suddenly the encounter with the fireman made sense.

_We can't get her out. The fire's too strong._

That was Piper's car in the fire. And Piper was inside.

_Oh, God._ Leo doubled over, choking on what felt like a knot in his throat and what he recognized as tears. He was wracked with them, and he felt the arms of his father wrapped around his body. He wasn't crying, but he was coughing up dry tears. The feeling was indescribably horrible.

Rick held his son through the ordeal, not knowing what to say or do but be there for him. What was he supposed to say, _Chin up, Son, just because your wife's dead doesn't mean you can cry!_? He knew the protocol with strangers who had lost someone, usually a victim just cried and screamed and grabbed him and yelled, "Why?". This was different. This was his son. And Piper, well she was like his daughter. He wanted to cry, too. Everyone around them wanted to cry.

But no one did. They held it all back.

But not Leo.

"This isn't right," he said, speaking for the first time since he'd yelled at Cortez just a few minutes ago. "This—No, it—"

"Shh…"

"No!" Leo tore away and stood up so fast that he almost fell again. He started to walk away, shaking his head. "This isn't happening!" he yelled. Ron and Jake chased after him. They grabbed his shoulders and yanked him around to face them. "No…" he muttered, walking away. His brothers followed. "No, this just isn't right…It's not—No, we—She can't be—"

"Leo!"

"_No!_" he yelled again. "It's someone else's car! It has to be! It—There's no—"

Ron shook his head. "It's Piper's car."

Leo stared at his older brother. His voice sounded so calm, so sure. How could he be calm right now? "No!" It seemed to be the operative word…"She's _not_ dead! She's _not_ dead!" He was yelling it, pushing against his brothers as the reality of the moment, coupled with the realization of Piper's mortality, hit him harder than anything ever had before. He was choking again, but there were no tears. He was fighting against his brothers arms, and they were holding him back, away from the fire. "No! Let me go!"

"Where would you go, Leo?" Jake yelled at him.

"I'm going into the fire! Where else would I go?" He moved forward again, pushing against his brothers. "Let me go! Let me go die! Dan did this, I know it! I swear I'll—"

"_Leo!_" Ron yelled, pushing Leo back so that he stumbled a few feet. "I know what's going on and I know this is too much to take in, but what the hell good is it going to do if you go burn, too? C'mon, just breathe!"

Leo wasn't listening. His mind was on a time years ago when he and Piper had engaged in a sort of Truth or Dare game just between them. He had asked her how she wanted to die. She'd said in her sleep. _Anything but burning. I would never want to burn to death._ That was what she had said.

He couldn't breathe again.

* * *

After the screaming and the fighting and the choking, Leo's brothers managed to drag him away from the scene of the crime. The fire was out by then, but the miles of traffic were still present. They weren't sure where they would take him, but he had to get away from there as the firefighters started pulling out anything that they could find inside the car.

Everyone else, including Mike, stayed behind to help out in directing traffic and filing reports. They watched Ron and Jake force Leo into a squad car and drive away. He sat in the back and stared out the window. He was quiet now, silent in fact. He watched the smoke climb up into the air from Piper's car.

Piper's car.

Piper.

He tried not to think about what was happening. Piper wasn't dead. There was no way. It had to be a different car, a different Piper, certainly not his. No, not his wife. She wasn't dead. Not a chance. His thoughts got more and more jumbled as he watched the scene of the accident get smaller and smaller as they drove away.

His brother's voice made him look up to the front of the car. "Where do we go?" Ron asked Jake, who shrugged.

"The station, I guess."

Ron nodded. He glanced in the rearview mirror at his younger brother. Leo's eyes were closed and he was very obviously fighting to stay sane. "Leo." The broken man looked up. "We're going to the station. Is that okay?" No answer. Ron sighed and continued to drive.

* * *

At the station, no one tried to give Leo any physical sympathy. They didn't want him to explode. They didn't treat him like a child, but they offered sympathetic glances and asked what they could do to help. Ron and Jake led him to his office and locked him in. He literally fell into the chair and just laid his head on the desk. He wasn't ready to verbally admit the truth. He wouldn't even admit it in his own mind.

Outside the office, Ron and Jake were talking to Adam. "He's in some state of shock," Ron was saying. "He won't talk at all. He was barely even breathing earlier. He passed out once, too."

"That's to be expected," Adam said. "Although I don't know what else we can expect. Leo's probably going to sit there for a while."

"Adam, I don't think he _really_ believes that Piper is…well…" Jake couldn't say the words either. "He won't believe that she's…"

"I know, he probably won't for a while."

Amy cleared her throat from the desk a few feet away. The men turned to look at her. "I just got a fax in from the fire department chief," she started. Adam nodded for her to continue. "Their guys found parts of a, um, bomb under…Piper's car. They say somebody planted it and detonated it from somewhere close to the accident. That was why her car…caught fire and," Amy paused, "exploded. It was what sent her car into the other two, also."

"It was planted?" Ron asked.

Amy nodded. "That's what they just told me."

Adam cursed under his breath. "Dan," he muttered. "It had to be."

Jake nodded. "The evidence adds up."

Ron glanced through the glass window to look at Leo, who had barely moved. "This isn't gonna go over well with Leo."

* * *

He could feel the tears inside, but was unable to cry. It wasn't an issue of pride, it was because there was a great wall there that made his throat close up and his face burn that wouldn't let anything out. Before grief, he felt anger. Anger toward Piper for leaving him, toward God for taking her, and toward Dan for helping. He knew Dan did it. There was no other explanation. And there was the fact that he had heard Adam and his brothers talking because they were so close by. When he heard the truth, confirming that Dan was involved, that was when the anger started surging through him.

And suddenly he was sick.

Standing on shaky legs, he opened the door of his office and disappeared down a hallway to the bathroom. He knew everyone in the lobby had seen and were wondering where he was going. He didn't care, just found the nearest toilet and threw up instead of crying. He felt the burn in his throat more prominently afterward, and he sat back and wiped his mouth. He surveyed his surroundings in the public bathroom, then stood again on now shakier legs and turned to stare into the bathroom mirror.

In his own personal opinion, he looked like shit; felt like it, too. He leaned against the cool marble wall for a moment and thought he was going to be sick again, but just ended up spitting into the toilet a few times. He washed his hands and face and wandered into the lobby, where time seemed to stop again as everyone looked up at him.

"Prue and Phoebe. Do they know?" was the first thing out of Leo's mouth.

Adam shook his head slowly.

"Then I'll be back." Leo turned and walked right out the front door. He didn't have a car with him at the station, but had keys to his brother's squad car. He drove to Prue's house with the lights and sirens on the entire time.

* * *

Phoebe had been at Prue's house at the time, thank God. That way he only had to tell the story once. Andy hadn't been home, and Leo wasn't sure if that made it easier or harder for him. Once he told the sisters that their sister was dead, they immediately started to cry, and he almost envied them for it. He was feeling just an empty void inside; at least they had some way to say how they felt. Prue up and broke down in his arms, and Phoebe crumpled to the floor in the living room. They asked if it was true. They denied it. Then they realized the truth and cried more.

"Dan?" Prue asked quietly.

Leo nodded. "It's been confirmed."

Prue didn't comment on how emotionally cold Leo seemed. He had to have been drained, she thought. She was angry at Dan just as he was, but she couldn't have imagined the things he was planning on doing to the man. Leo already had a slow death planned for him.

* * *

That night, Leo went home to a dark and empty house. He wasn't sure if he'd be able to stay there that night, but he knew he had to try. Yukon slept on the bed where Piper usually slept. He sensed something was wrong as soon as Leo got home. He barely closed the front door, and he didn't turn on a single lamp. He just kept his eyes on the floor and collapsed on his bed.

His bed. It wasn't _their_ bed. Not anymore.

A dam broke inside of him and he was choking again, this time on real tears that were damned and determined to escape. That feeling of being emotionally cold inside all day was replaced by anger and tears. Piper was gone. That awful truth was evident now, and there was no stopping the tears. It was the first time in his life he'd ever cried so hard, not even when his grandfather died. It was the first time in his life that he ever cried himself to sleep.

* * *

He woke to a busy house. The bedroom door was shut; it hadn't been shut last night. There were noises coming from the kitchen, muffled voices. He sat up slowly, noticing that Yukon wasn't in the room. He stood up too fast and was punished with a head rush and a momentary blackout.

After getting his balance back, Leo wandered out into the living room, then turned right to glance into the kitchen. Rick, Prue, and Phoebe were in his kitchen, standing against the island. All three of them looked up at the same time. They looked more confused than Leo did.

He ignored the pounding in his head and the soreness in his throat. He couldn't breathe through his nose very well and he was sore all over. He ignored it all. "What the hell are you all doing here?" he asked quietly, walking past them to get a glass from the cabinet.

"Leo, we, uh…We need to talk. Seriously."

He filled the cup with water, and drank it all down at once. He turned to look at Prue, who had spoke. "Yep."

Phoebe and Prue led their brother-in-law—he was, after all, still their brother-in-law, right?—into the living room. Rick followed silently and watched the girls sit Leo down on the chair across from the couch.

"Now, this…This is going to be hard to say…" Prue started.

"Prue, I know Piper's dead," Leo said coldly.

The harsh statement made tears spring to both Prue and Phoebes' eyes. "You say it with too much conviction."

"Well it's true, isn't it?" he asked, barely looking up at the teary-eyed, angry sister. He watched them sit on the couch across from him.

"Leo, Piper was…"

The sound of her name brought tears to his eyes and he wanted to die. He felt as if he'd died last night, and he was up and ready to do it all over again. "I don't want to talk," he said hoarsely.

"I know. And you don't have to. But you need to listen." Phoebe sighed. "Yesterday…" she started, and couldn't finish.

"Did you come here to talk or not?" Leo asked. He stood up from the big chair and tried to walk away, but his father stopped him.

"Sit back down," Rick said in the same voice he used to use to scold Leo and his brothers when they were younger. "Just sit down."

Leo looked up into his father's eyes and let out a short sigh. He fell back down into the chair and stared at the floor. Yukon came up and nudged his hand. He waved the dog away.

Phoebe took another go at it. "Um…Leo, you're not gonna want to hear this, but…" She paused.

Leo looked up. "What?"

"…Piper…"

He winced at her name, feeling tears welling up again. He closed his eyes.

"She…Piper was coming home to, uh...To tell you…" Phoebe couldn't finish. She couldn't bring herself to say it.

Seeing as Leo could barely take anymore, Prue blurted it out. "She was coming home to tell you she was pregnant."

Leo suddenly looked up. "You're kidding," he said at first, with an almost-laugh that showed his disbelief. When no answer but sympathetic eyes met him, he shook his head. "Is this some sort of a sick joke?"

Prue shook her head slowly. "I'm so sorry…" she started.

"No, you've gotta be kidding…You've gotta be kidding me…" Leo was shaking his head and his eyes were pleading the sisters to tell him they were joking. He dropped his head, then leaned back against the back of the couch, running his hands over his face. "You've got to be kidding…This is not happening."

His dad has his hand and was telling him to breathe. But he couldn't. He stood up and almost lost his balance. He was already going for the front door. "I have to get out of here. This—This is all Dan's fault. I'll kill him, I swear—" With that the door closed behind him and he was gone.

Prue sighed, dropping her head and closing her eyes. "He took that well."

* * *

Leo was at the station before he even knew it. He literally threw the door open and demanded to talk to Adam. "I want every goddamn file we have on Dan _right now_!"

Most of the commotion at the station stopped dead. "Leo—"

"Don't give me shit, Adam, I want those files now!"

"Leo calm down. You're not thinking straight."

"You're _damn_ right I'm not thinking straight! _Amy_!" he shot the words at the shocked secretary. "I want those files on my desk!" He had moved from grief to anger, and boy was there a lot of anger in there. "It was Dan, we all know it! I'm gonna kill the son of a bitch! I swear—to _fucking God_ I am going to kill him!"

"Leo, calm down!" Adam said again. "Just breathe." He moved his hands up and down slowly to imitate calm breathing.

"Why does everybody keep telling me to breathe? I fucking _know_—how to _breathe_! And why the _fuck_ do I have to calm down? My wife is _dead_! My life is _over_! Why the _fuck_ do I have to calm down? All I have left to live for is _finding _Dan, and killing him!" He went into his office, slamming the door so hard that it shook the glass window. Suddenly the door opened. "_Amy! Files!_"

* * *

**I know this chapter was a little fast-paced and jumpy, so forgive me. Also, I'm sorry that I had to kill Piper, but you don't understand—I _had_ to kill Piper! Those were my intentions from the beginning. Go back and read the summary in Chapter 1, it says one day "Leo comes home and Piper doesn't". I'm sorry, but you guys had to know what you were getting yourselfs into! And please—_please_—don't let that keep you from reviewing. Leo is going to be out for vengance, and Piper will still be in the story. I'm good at this, I can incorporate her still, don't worry!**

**Also, I was very surprised and the number of reviews for the previous chapter. I mean, Chapter 19 got like 17 reviews but when I put up the climax of the entire story...I dunno, maybe just not many people were online...On my login site, however, I can tell who has vewied each chapter and how many of those numbers have _re_viewed. It's surprising really, that for most stories if 200 people view a chapter only like 20 of them actually drop a review. What does it hurt, really? And seriously, it makes a writer feel really good about themselves, like they're putting their work up and someone is actually enjoying it. Otherwise, why are we here?**

**I want to say thanks to everyone who has reviewed and keeps reviewing. I know Piper dying is a huge shock, but like I said, read the summary! To my friend Danielle, I'm sorry, but you asked a long time ago what would happen. Sorry if I ruined it for you, girl!**

**One last thing: a couple tornadoes hit my town (spfld, IL) Sunday, and even though my friends and I are okay and haven't sustained any damage (thank God—even my chicken sat in the tree the entire time!) my dad's block took on a lot of damage. He lives right where the tornado hit. I'll probably be over there for a few days, which means I won't have much time to write. Four of our neighbors over there have gigantic trees on their roofs, and one of them is handicapped, so I want to be there to be sure everyone is all right. No casualties, just major power outages. Two of my friends had no power until this morning (Tuesday). The good thing: school has been out for three days now (none tomorrow for sure) and my high school has become a shelter for people. There probably won't be any school for a week or so, so that will give me time to write, and if I get _really_ bored, party! So bear with us, people, Springfield hasn't had a real touchdown tornado in years. This is kinda new to us!**

**And please review! I need to know what you guys think of this story still!**


	22. Monday Morning Church

**First of all, I have some things to say. I want to extend the biggest thanks of my life to those of you who still have some faith in me and will continue to read and review my story. It means so much to me that you'll all stick with me. No seriously. You have no idea. This is one of my favorite stories I've written—hands down. This is the story of mine that I want edited and published someday. But, to those who reviewed negatively and said you would not be reading and reviewing from now on, I have to say I am deeply saddened.**

**Since you won't be here to read this, as you say, I'll say some things about you people. And I'll have you know, I hate the phrase "you people", but look, I just used it. Surprising, isn't it? Well I can be surprising sometimes. Like with this story, for example. I do have to say, though, you all should have seen it coming. Like I've said before, read the long summary in the first chapter. It says, and I quote: **"But one night Leo came home and Piper didn't. Everyone knew what happened and everyone knew who did it. Everyone. Leo was out for blood."

**Now for a couple of personal responses…**

**To OTHCharmedHPFreak, you have no idea how much I wanted to cuss you out as you did me, however short and bittersweet the review was. But no, I was the better person, and I think you got (and probably read then saved and printed off to show your friends) the personal message I sent you. I'll publicize the review you sent me. _Fuck u. I'm done with this story._ That's copied right off the review page. First of all, "u" does not make "you". I suggest that if you would like to pursue your career of negative reviewing and sudden loss-of-faith in authors, you spell each word out. If there's one thing that I hate, it's people who cuss out and criticize others in writing and abbreviate every other word and accomplish nothing but make themselves look bad and give the writer a good laugh with their friends—and believe me, I had a great laugh with a good deal of my friends. I'm really upset that you lost faith in me so quickly when I clearly stated that Piper would not be gone, that the story wasn't over, and that these were my intentions from the beginning.**

**That's true, people, when I started this story (which, might I add, was my very first on my first laptop) in Tennessee on vacation two summers ago, I had every intention of killing Piper in the 20th chapter, which was going to be called "That Fateful Night" until I came up with "Up in Flames".**

**Also, to _Pissed Off!_, you really hurt me. I'm sorry that I ruined your day, and that your day revolved around nothing but reading my chapter of Payback, as it seems. I don't think the entire thing was _sick_, per se, in fact I like to refer to it as a _plot twist_. I'm equally shocked as I am hurt that you would think I would continue this allegedly _sick_ pattern in my other stories. Even my finished ones? Wowie. I'm sorry that you're disgruntled. I'm also sorry that you would lose faith in me so quickly, if, as you stated, you "used to" love all my other stories. I'm sorry that this one little chapter, plot twist, _sick thing_—call it as you will—ruined your faith in all of my stories. I hope you'll come around someday and step outside of the box, I really do. Also, thank you for the kudos on Leo's handling of things. I thought I did a nice job, too.**

**And again, thank you to you great people who decided to stick with me! Thank you so much! I know nobody likes harsh reviews, and actually these were the first really mean things I've received. At first I was hurt. Then I laughed. Then I got a little upset. When I was finished, I sat down and wrote these author notes, then finished the chapter, and posted it all for you guys. Thank you and please R&R.**

**

* * *

**

Chapter 22 - Rainin' On Me

Adam tried to convince Leo to take a few days off of work. Maybe a couple of week. Leo refused each time, saying he had a job to do, he had to find Dan.

But Dan was harder to find that anyone thought. Everyone knew it was him, though no one knew how he had gotten so close to plant the bomb. Ron and his partner Jenny went by the apartment building Dan was to stay at to raid it for evidence. They found nothing…but a cell phone.

"Okay, so we checked the records on this phone with Piper's cell records, just on a hunch…" Ron was explaining to Leo and Adam. He tried to sound as professional as possible, because he didn't want to take his time in speaking and make it harder for Leo. They were in Leo's office at the station with the door wide open, allowing everyone to hear.

"And?" Adam urged.

Ron sighed. "He'd been calling her."

Leo looked up. "He what?"

Ron nodded. "He was calling her for about two weeks before…Um…"

"Before he killed her," Leo finished.

Ron stood still, shocked. He didn't expect Leo to be so forward. "Well…It seemed he had a recording setting on his cell, and he actually _recorded_ a conversation with Piper. We don't know why yet, maybe it was just his fixation with her that made him—"

"Can we hear it?"

"Leo, I don't think—"

"Ron. I want to hear it."

Ron looked at his younger brother. After a second, he nodded, pulled the cell phone out, and found the recorded conversation. He pressed _Play_, and after a second of static, they heard Piper's voice.

_"Hello?"_

Leo caught his breath. He half-expected to look up and see her in the doorway. He hadn't heard her voice in two days. He expected it would be the last time he'd ever hear it. He sighed quietly, laid his head on his desk in his arms. This was too much to take already, and he'd barely even heard a two-syllable word from her. It was like he was going to implode.

_"Miss Halliwell…"_

_"Please, no. I'm not ready. I don't have anything to give you…"_ Piper immediately said.

There was a soft chuckle on the other line. _"Quite the contrary, Miss Halliwell."_

_"Stop calling me that."_ Her voice was strong and hard.

_"You haven't told your husband about our little chats, have you?"_ No answer. Have you_? Answer me."_

_"…No."_

Dan sighed. _"It's really too bad, you know. I _told _you to tell them about me. I told you everything; where to find me, how to contact me. Why didn't you go to your husband with the information?"_ He spoke slowly, sure of every word.

_"Be—Because, you'll hurt him."_

_"I like the way you think. You're right, I will. But would you rather I hurt you? I know neither of us want that to happen."_ Again, no response. _"Okay, I'll make you a deal…Are you listening?"_

_"…Yes."_ Her once strong voice was trembling now. Leo could envision her shaking. Her voice showed her fear.

_"Good…Okay, here are your choices…"_

_"Please…"_ They could barely heard the word.

_"First, you could tell your husband about our…chats. You could give him and his friends the information I gave you, and have them come find me. You know I'll be ready for them. Maybe something bad could happen to them…Is it worth the risk?"_

Piper said some words that were incoherent. They could almost hear her crying in the background.

_"Or second…You could give me your life…in trade for your husband's."_ Dan paused to hear Piper's sharp intake of breath. He had to be enjoying himself. "_Those are your two choices. Take one. Make a choice. Do you tell your husband what I've told you? Do you go to him and let him come after me? Do you risk his life? Or do you give your own?"_

_"He could bring backup."_ She was trying to sound strong, fighting to stay sane. Leo could hear it. It tore him apart.

_"Do you honestly think that will make a difference? I have plans either way. You have to make a choice. You have one week."_

From there, the line went dead. Leo couldn't breathe.

"She sacrificed herself…so that I could live?" he asked in disbelief. "Why did she…How—"

Ron touched his brother's arm. He could feel his muscles flickering. "Leo, I know this is a lot to take in right now, but—"

Leo ripped away and pushed out from the desk he was sitting at. "No!" he yelled. "This isn't _right_! It isn't _fair_! Why didn't she tell me? Why didn't she tell me—Why the _fuck_ didn't you tell me?" He yelled the last sentence right at the ceiling, directing them to his wife. "She should have told me…She—I can't believe this. How could she—She should have told me." He crumpled back down into his desk. This was too much to handle.

That was enough for the day.

* * *

The funeral. 

He hadn't thought about it at all. Luckily Piper's sisters had taken care of the arrangements. They told him where to be and when. He didn't want to go. He couldn't bring himself to do it.

So his brothers brought him. They put him in the back of Jake's truck and drove him to the cemetery. There was a considerable number of people there: his parents, her father and sisters, friends and family, their old mutual friend Kyle. A few workers from Piper's nightclub P3 showed up, as well as some of Leo's closer friends from work (Adam, Cortez, Jenny, Jaime, Amy).

There hadn't been a visitation, because there hadn't been much of a body to visit. The coffin was empty and the day was rainy, not just with tears. Leo barely heard the priest speaking his empty words. He stared at the ground and listened to everyone around him.

Prue and Phoebe were crying quietly a few feet away across from him. He glanced up to see Victor holding his daughters. He hadn't talked to Victor since he'd come by to apologize for starting a fight with him. Behind him, Leo even heard his mother crying. His father's hand was on his arm, almost holding him up. He watched the priest finish more than he heard. He was concentrating on not crying. He'd cried enough in the past few days, and this was Day Four since…

The priest stepped back and the coffin was lowered into the deep hole in the ground. Leo saw Prue sob and clutch her sister's arm, he felt Victor's glare on him. He watched everyone go up one by one and say their very last goodbyes. Prue and Phoebe lingered longer than anyone, crying and repeating the phrase "I love you" more times than either could count.

And then everyone was gone. Except for Victor, Prue, Phoebe, Jake, and Leo. Jake was taking Leo home and Prue, Phoebe, and Victor had all come together. None of them wanted to leave. Not just yet.

Leo hadn't gone up. He'd been the only one _not_ to say goodbye. He wasn't ready to, not just yet. He was too scared to do it. Prue and Phoebe were about to leave with Victor and had come up to say goodbye. The sky hadn't dropped any rain yet and they wanted to leave before it did. Well, that and they didn't want to stay. It was too hard.

Phoebe was the first to give Leo a hug. "I love you," she told him sincerely. "And you're still our brother, so come by sometime. I want you to keep us up on the investigation, okay? You find Dan and kill him for what he's done."

Leo nodded. Phoebe calling him her brother brought tears to his eyes. She backed out and made her way to the car as Prue approached him. They exchanged the "I love you's" with little effort, and after a long embrace and a few tears, Prue joined her sister by the car.

Leo looked up to see Victor staring him down. The look in the broken father's face must have matched his own. Neither moved. "I'm sorry," Leo said.

"You should be."

Leo's eyes glinted with anger. He couldn't believe this. Piper was dead and buried just a few feet away, and Victor wanted to go pointing the blame now? "Listen, I don't want to get into this…" he tried to get out of the pending fight easily, for everyone's sakes.

"I bet. I can't believe you'd let this happen."

Okay. That was it. There was no getting out of it now. How _dare_ he say something like that. "What are you saying? Do you think I _wanted_ this?" he asked roughly, staring the older man down.

"Well you sure didn't do a damn thing about it!"

That set Leo off, and he stepped forward. "I did everything I could! I tried to get her into Witness Protection—She refused. I sent officers with her everywhere she went—He _shot_ Cortez! I'm not a mind reader, I didn't _know_ that he was contacting her! How was I supposed to know?"

"You were supposed to _protect_ her, that was your _job_! You couldn't protect her from him once and now look where she is! My _daughter_! My baby girl!"

Leo gave a half-assed gesture in the air toward each person he spoke about. "Your daughter, their sister—my wife! Everything to everybody, and now she's dead and I can't help you with that, Victor! You want to tell me that I failed? Don't waste your breath, because I garun-fuckin'-tee you that I'm already killing myself about it more than you want to kill me right now! I already know I failed, I was right there on the fucking scene of the crime! I watched her car burn! And she's dead—_She's dead_ and I failed! Are you happy now?"

Jake had been desperately trying to pry Leo away from Victor's face., for fear of a physical fight breaking out. Prue and Phoebe were doing the same with their father. They managed to get the two apart as they yelled back and forth at each other. It was crystal clear that Leo blamed himself, and that Victor blamed him as well.

Jake managed to fight Leo into his truck, and all but threw him into the passenger seat. He nodded to Prue and Phoebe that he would take care of Leo, and drove him away from the cemetery. He needed to get away, that was for sure.

"What the hell was that?" he scolded his older brother, who stared out the front window almost religiously. He had no intentions of moving his eyes, or any muscle in his body, for that matter. When a sigh came from the other side of the car and Jake glanced over to see his older brother fighting tears, he closed his eyes briefly. "You don't need anymore enemies, Leo."

Jake left it at that.

* * *

Two days. Two, empty, horrifyingly hollow, nothingness days. Leo was not allowed to work on the case, which was officially being called a murder. His brother Ron and Ron's partner Jenny took the case as investigators, and Leo had practically begged for them to let him help. But Ron had turned him down, told him to go home, get some sleep. He promised to keep Leo updated and, if they did find Dan—_when_, _when_ they found Dan…—Leo would be able to have the honors of the arrest. 

So Leo went home.

And he drank.

He passed out from drinking so much, and when he woke on the couch in his living room—his, not theirs anymore—he was in such an uncomfortable position that when he tried to adjust, he fell off the couch and landed on Yukon. He stared at the ceiling. He forced back tears and lost.

At some point, he made it back onto the couch and fell asleep. When he finally woke hours later, he groaned. His head hurt. He rubbed his sore eyes and barely opened them. Somebody was in his house, he could sense it. He opened his eyes and looked up, then stopped breathing.

Piper. _Piper?_

But yes, there she was, standing right before him! He reached out, and she stepped back. There she was, in all her beauty and glory, smiling down at him. He could almost—_almost_—touch her hair…

"Piper…" he muttered.

She knelt down beside the couch, dark hair falling over her shoulder. "Leo…" she sighed, reaching up to run the back of her hand down his face.

He wanted to die. He wanted to cry. He wanted to hold her. He couldn't. "I'm sorry," he was saying. "I'm sorry—I'm so sorry…"

She shook her head. Worry clouded her features and she helped him to sit upright on the couch. "No…No, don't be sorry…"

As soon as she had touched his arm, he knew she was real. She had to be real. It didn't matter than they had buried her earlier that day, she was standing real and true before him. He pulled her down beside him and held her. "How could you leave me?" he whispered.

She kissed him once, held him to her. "I'm sorry," she whispered back. "I'm sorry I had to leave…It was just…It was time."

He shook his head. "No, not time…"

She nodded and kissed him again. "You have a job to do, okay? You have to go _find_ Dan. Okay? This is your job now."

He shook his head again. "I can't."

"Yes you can. You have to." Another kiss. "I have to go. I can't stay. I'll watch over you, I promise." She started to move away.

He grappled for her, but she was already fading in his arms. Where was she going, how could she leave now? "No! No, please don't go—Please—Not again, I can't lose you again."

"You won't. I promise, I'll be right here, okay? Right here. I'll always be watching over you, I swear." She kissed him once, twice. "I love you."

He could feel tears, hot behind his eyes. He couldn't handle losing her again. "I love you. Oh, God, I love you, I love you so much…" He kissed her one last time, deeply, desperate, and felt her fade away.

She was gone. She was gone, and he was alone again. Forever.

Thunder boomed outside and rain started. Seconds later it picked up, and soon it was raining hard. He stood on shaky legs and walked to the front door. He opened the door and stepped outside into the rain. Instantly, he was soaking wet, but he didn't mind. Maybe the rain could wash away his tears.

* * *

Adam hadn't let Leo into the station. He didn't want Leo to know all the details about the case, which was getting colder by the day. Dan was gone and left only a few short leads that ended in nothing. The evidence that they did have was enough to convict, if only they had someone to convict. 

Leo drank a lot. He spent his nights at Hell's Haven, which had become his have. He couldn't get a handle on anything. If he drank, then he didn't cry. If he drank, he would pass out eventually and not have to think about Piper. Drinking helped. It helped a lot.

His brothers usually got him to come home. He didn't like it at home. Home was where he was reminded of Piper. _Everywhere_ was where he was reminded of Piper. He would stare at the ceiling, because nothing about a ceiling made him think of Piper. He couldn't bear it anymore. He'd felt pain before, but this was unbelievable. He couldn't breathe.

Unless he drank.

So he drank.

And Ron and Jake came by Hell's Haven and tried to take him home. It became something of a nightly activity. A week after Piper's death, they found Leo at the bar again. They made a beeline for their brother, who was in a drunken stupor.

"Come on…Let's get you outta here." Ron pulled Leo up from the stool he'd been sitting at and nearly falling out of.

Leo pushed his brother away and sat back down. "I'm not going anywhere."

"The hell you aren't," Jake argued. "You're coming with us. Let's go."

"No." Leo stood on shaky legs that were bound to give out any second.

"Damn it, Leo, do you think Piper would let you do this to yourself?" Jake snapped.

Leo's eyes flashed with anger. "I wouldn't have a reason to _be_ here if Piper were here!"

"Then stop taking it out on yourself!"

"Jake…" Ron warned.

"No. No, I won't let him do this." Jacob turned to his brother. "If you want to sit around and feel sorry for yourself, save it for a time when you actually do something wrong. 'Til then, you've got a job to do."

"Just leave," Leo said, shrugging his brother's hand off of his shoulder.

"Not without you."

"Come on, you can stay at my place tonight," Ron said.

Leo shook his head. "I need to go somewhere."

"Yeah—Home," Jake said.

"No." Leo shook his head again. "Where're my keys?" He glanced around the bar counter, turning in a circle. Jake spotted the keys to Leo's truck on the counter and grabbed them. Leo turned around. "Gimme 'em."

"No. You're not driving anywhere. You're drunk."

Leo knew that full well. "Gimme 'em," he repeated.

Jake put the keys in his pocket so Leo couldn't get them. "You're not getting them from me, Leo. You can't drive."

"Then take me somewhere."

"Where?"

"The cemetery. I want to go to the cemetery." He nodded.

Ron and Jake exchanged a glance. They both nodded solemnly.

* * *

Leo got out of the car and looked around. He sighed deeply. He'd ridden with the window down and his head out the entire way there, and the fresh air had sobered him up. 

That was the problem, though…That wasn't what he wanted.

The cemetery wasn't locked. Leo's brothers trailed behind him. They walked up the path in the dark; Leo knew exactly where he was going.

At the spot where the path turned off toward her grave, Leo stopped. He turned around to face Jacob and Ron. "You can go now."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked.

Leo nodded a little. "I'll be fine. I can walk to Mom and Dad's place from here. It's just three blocks."

"I'll call them and tell them you'll be down there in a little while, then."

"…Thanks…"

"Call us if you need something. I'll leave my cell on."

"Okay."

Leo was quiet for a few seconds, staring at Jake and Ron. Jake stepped forward and hugged Leo, patting his back. "Love you, Man."

"Love you, too."

Jake stepped back and Ron hugged Leo. "Don't do anything stupid. Stay with Mom and Dad tonight."

"I will."

Jake and Ron left their brother in the cemetery. Leo looked up when he heard a bell tower on the top of a nearby church strike one. One o'clock in the morning, and he was alone at a cemetery. Ha.

He didn't need to think about where to go; his feet guided him effortlessly. He stood in front of her grave for a few silent minutes…

It felt like hours.

He found himself whispering things. Talking to the stone. Talking to her. He found himself confessing everything.

"I'm so sorry…" he whispered. "It was my fault. I should have made sure he stayed away. I should have watched you better…You were right. You said he'd come…I didn't want to listen to you. I didn't want to believe it. But you were right…" He shook his head.

"I should have just killed him when I first had the chance…" He shook his head again. "I should have…I'm sorry…Just know this: I'll avenge you. He won't live this time, I swear…"

He sighed.

"I'm afraid, Piper…" he said quietly, a tear sliding down his cheek. "I'm afraid…I've never known a good moment without you, and now I have a lifetime alone…I thought I could keep you forever…I'm afraid of being alone. Of being without you. I'm afraid I'll forget you. I'll forget memories that you bring out, the lifestyle that you created, the things you said, what you did, how you looked. I'm terrified. I don't want to forget."

More tears were coming now. He couldn't fight them. There was no use. It was pointless. He had the right to cry; they'd been married for nearly two decades, friends since age seven.

"But I don't want to remember, either…But I'd rather be haunted with your memory every moment of every day than forget you…But I don't think I can handle it, Piper…It's too much. It hurts…Everything…Everything hurts. Everything I see, everything I do…It reminds me of you. Little things, big things…Your black bag in the back of the car…Some sort of food you kept in the freezer as leftovers…Everything.

"I'm scared, Piper…I need you. I can't live without you, I don't know how…I've never tried, I've never needed to. I've always had you…I thought I always would.

"I love you. That's all I can promise, is my love. I'll never stop loving you. I swear."

* * *

At 2:30AM, Leo showed up at his parents' door. He knocked on it a few times and waited on the front porch. Emily opened the door. Her face immediately softened. She wrapped her arms around her son and pulled him inside the house. 

He'd run out of tears for the night and was empty inside. Cold. His head hurt. His stomach hurt. His heart hurt. He was nauseas and queasy and felt like throwing up. Most of all, he felt like dying.

Emily took him to the couch, then brought him a glass of water. He sipped it absentmindedly, just staring at the wall.

"You want a bed or do you just want to sleep on the couch?" Emily asked her son. Leo was still staring at the wall. His head shook slightly but he didn't give a clear answer. "Well…I guess it doesn't matter…You can choose whichever you want…" Emily sighed, not sure of what to say next. "Do you want to be alone, or do you want me to stay?"

Leo shook his head again.

"I'll go, then?" Emily stood up and started to walk away.

"Thanks for letting me stay."

Emily turned and put her hand on Leo's shoulder. She moved to face him. "Anytime, Son. You know you're always welcome here." With that, she left him alone with his thoughts.

Not really sure of what to do next, Leo glanced around the room. He spotted a radio beside him and shrugged. He turned it on, keeping the volume low. The voice of a radio announcer sounded. _"Okay, this is a fairly new one from Alan Jackson. Here it is—Monday Morning Church."_

_You left your Bible on the dresser  
__So I put it in the drawer  
__'Cause I can't seem to talk to God without yelling anymore  
__And when I sit at your piano  
__I can almost hear those hymns  
__The keys are just collecting dust  
__But I can't close the lid_

_You left my heart as empty  
__As a Monday morning church  
__It used to be so full of faith and now it only hurts  
__And I can hear the devil whisper  
__"Things are only getting worse"  
__You left my heart as empty  
__As a Monday morning church_

_The preacher came by Sunday  
__Said he missed me at the service  
__He told me Jesus loves me  
__But I'm not sure I deserve it  
__'Cause the faithful man that you loved  
__Is nowhere to be found  
__Since they took all that he believed  
__And laid it in the ground_

_You left my heart as empty  
__As a Monday morning church  
__It used to be so full of faith and now it only hurts  
__And I can hear the devil whisper  
__"Things are only getting worse"  
__You left my heart as empty  
__As a Monday morning church_

_I still believe in Heaven  
__And I'm sure you've made it there  
__But as for me without your love, girl  
__I don't have a prayer_

_You left my heart as empty  
__As a Monday morning church  
__It used to be so full of faith and now it only hurts  
__And I can heart the devil whisper  
__"Things are only getting worse"  
__You left my heart as empty  
__As a Monday morning church_

_You left your Bible on the dresser  
__So I put it in the drawer_

* * *

**The song was _Monday Morning Church_ by Alan Jackson. A really great song, with a beautiful video that made me cry. Very emotional. He's so great. I am such a country girl...lol  
These chapters are emotional and sad, I know...I hope nobody cried...I'm trying to write at my best for this story, I want to be very proud of it when I'm finished. I know I will be, as long as you guys are all proud to have read it! (tell your friends - lol!)**

**Also, one last thing...Okay two things:  
a) I'm sorry I ranted so long at the top of the page...I was really upset. Sometimes I have upset moments.  
b) _Payback_ and _Love is a Myth_ are both currently under a revise! Yay! Don't worry about _Payback_, the plot won't change, just a few smaller things that no one _really_ notices, just things that make the story flow a little smoother. When I'm finished it will be a better story, and I'll post the new chapters over the old ones. Don't worry, though, it won't be major changes, honest. As for _Myth_, it will be changed almost completely...I probably won't repost it on Fanfiction, but I won't take down what I have now. If I do repost it sometime, it will be on my Fictonpress account, the url to which is on my profile page. Thanks much!**

**Hope you liked. :-)**


	23. Sorry!

We regret to inform you that this is not an update.

I'm sorry!

I just had some things to say and I wanted to get some stuff out in the open…and I don't have a Chapter 23 as of yet…Sorry! Brain fart, I've been working on a lot of other fictions right now.

1: I went through Payback and rewrote the first 20 chapters, so I would recommend rereading if you've forgotten anything. I didn't change anything big, it all just flows better and it's written much better, as well. I also grammar and spell checked everything, though a few things may have gotten through…

2: There is a high possibility that Payback may be getting published soon! I've been looking into self-publishing companies, and I really like a lot. It's sort of expensive, but my mom and I may split the cost, get some media, and get me published! That is, considering I _finish_ the story, you know, within the _decade_.

3: There is also a possibility that that won't happen. Why, you ask? Well, because last Saturday night, two of my friends bailed on me to go to the rodeo, so my mom took me to go karaoke at a bar & grill…and then I met a record producer. I know, how crazy! No one ever thinks that really happens in real life, but it did! And it happened to me! Nothing good _ever_ happens to me, and that was _so_ great! So I have his card, and forgive me, but if the prices are close or equal, I would cut a few songs and make a video before publishing a book. Sorry.

4: Almost immediately after posting my page-long rant before Chapter 22, I got responses from OTHCharmedHPFreak and now Not-So-Pissed-Off. Both had reasons and excuses for their reviews. Now whether they were telling the truth or not is not for me to decide, but I thank them both for the responses, and it would be nice if other readers would go into the review section and read their reviews please, so that they can have some more peace of mind. Thanks!

5: Since I posted the rewritten versions of chapters 10-19, the reviewer responses were, um…sorta…deleted. Sorry. But it's not like you already haven't read them, though:-D

That's all I have to say, and hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon! Thanks, everyone, _y muchas amor a todos_!

hannahlt09


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